Italy: A respectable senior with no criminal record had massive $6 million hoard of stolen watches, gems and jewelry

Rome: An Italian senior hoarded 100,000 stolen items taken from thousands of people over the past 20 years, Bologna police have announced.

Authorities seized the thieved loot, worth €6 million ($6.3 million), bought from burglars and pickpockets by a 70-year-old man in Bologna, north Italy, La Repubblica reports.

His home was raided after authorities noticed a number of people entering and leaving the property. They now believe the pensioner was buying the stolen goods from the visitors.

Police said the man had no criminal record and led a respectable life but had been buying stolen goods from thieves for 20 years, The Times reported.

The police said they are still hunting for the senior who had been buying stolen items that came from thefts across northern Italy. He had not made any attempt to sell the goods on, said police, per The Times.

The police have launched a new website to showcase all the valuables in an attempt to reunite them with their rightful owners.

The huge collection includes watches, jewelry, money, weapons, rare coins, silver ingots, and even a mammoth’s tooth.

Police say the loot was spread across four were hidden in four houses, three cellars, and safe deposit boxes.

The police said the goods weighed a total of 1.65 tons, and a moving company had to be enlisted to shift the hoard.

€600,000 ($639,627) worth of stolen valuables has already been returned to the owners.