Venice mayor calls out 'arrogant imbeciles' who were filmed illegally surfing along city's iconic canal

• Video footage showed two men using electric surfboards to zoom along Venice's iconic Grand Canal.
• The city's mayor shared the video on Twitter, calling the surfers "arrogant imbeciles."

Venice's mayor called out the two "arrogant imbeciles" who were filmed surfing along the city's iconic Grand Canal on Wednesday.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted a video of two men zooming along Venice's canals on electric surfboards and accused them of making a "mockery of this city" in the accompanying caption.

Brugnaro called on everyone to help identify the men, going as far as to offer a free meal to whoever tracked them down.

The men were eventually located, Brugnaro later said on Facebook. "They will be prosecuted as they deserve," he wrote in a comment.

According to the local newspaper La Nuova di Venezie e Mestre, police were able to identify the men thanks to video footage and reports from citizens. The surfers were identified as two Australian tourists.

They have each been fined 1,500 euros ($1,506), and the electric surfboards, which the newspaper said were valued at approximately 25,000 euros ($25,093), were seized.

The Australian consulate was contacted, La Nuova di Venezie e Mestre reported.

Venice, a UNESCO world heritage site, has clamped down in recent years on activities that might cause damage to the historic canals.

Last year, Italian authorities banned cruise ships from entering the historic center of Venice in response to a request from UNESCO. In 2018, the city banned personal recreational boats for non-residents from the city's main waterways.