Dozens of meticulously planned thefts on a remote island; all residents are potential suspects. In an investigation that would suit the persecution of Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, the three police officers on Capraia, an island off Tuscany, must step carefully while hunting down the culprits among the population of about 400.
The mayor of the island, Marida Bessi, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that cracks are already beginning to appear in the otherwise close-knit community, with friends and neighbors looking at each other suspiciously.
Most of the robberies, houses and shops, took place during the winter, when visitors are absent from the island, which is closer to Corsica than to mainland Italy and is only accessible by boat, weather permitting. In the latest incident, thieves deactivated the CCTV camera in a tobacco store before taking 60,000 euros (£ 52,000) from the safe.
They also entered the house of the deputy mayor, Fabio Mazzei, in November and left with a safe containing money and jewelry that had been hidden in some furniture. “It’s a very sad thing, because there is a feeling that you have a thief in the family,” Mazzei told the newspaper. “They hit the right day because they knew I was going to Pisa for a visit. They knew the house very well. “
Most residents keep their money at home because the island’s only bank closed last year. That the CCTV camera in the market is broken proves to be another obstacle in the investigation.
The investigation has so far given many theories, but there are no clues, Bessi said. “The three police officers of the island are very good, they do everything they can,” she told Corriere. “But they should have more investigative tools, because otherwise it’s really an unsolvable crime story.”
Two-thirds of the 19-square-kilometer island was occupied by a penal colony until 1986, and residents lived peacefully until recent thefts. The population swells to about 4,000 during the summer.
“The risk now is that the sense of community we have always had will be damaged,” Bessi said.