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Value of stolen Cannes jewels revised to 100m euros | Value of stolen Cannes jewels revised to 100m euros |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The value of jewels stolen in a dramatic theft in the French Riviera resort of Cannes has been raised to about 103m euros ($136m; £89m). | The value of jewels stolen in a dramatic theft in the French Riviera resort of Cannes has been raised to about 103m euros ($136m; £89m). |
The figure was given by a French prosecutor. It would make the Carlton Hotel raid one of the biggest gem robberies in Europe this century. | The figure was given by a French prosecutor. It would make the Carlton Hotel raid one of the biggest gem robberies in Europe this century. |
An armed man seized the gems from an exhibition of diamonds by the jeweller Leviev on Sunday morning. | An armed man seized the gems from an exhibition of diamonds by the jeweller Leviev on Sunday morning. |
Earlier the stolen gems had been given an estimated worth of 40m euros. | Earlier the stolen gems had been given an estimated worth of 40m euros. |
It is the largest in a series of high-profile robberies in Cannes. | It is the largest in a series of high-profile robberies in Cannes. |
Assistant prosecutor Philippe Vique, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, said the Dubai-based organiser of the diamond show had raised the value after doing a more detailed inventory check. | Assistant prosecutor Philippe Vique, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, said the Dubai-based organiser of the diamond show had raised the value after doing a more detailed inventory check. |
'Inadequate security' | |
French police are looking for a lone suspect who broke in through French doors at the hotel wearing a mask and carrying a hand gun. | |
He helped himself to diamond encrusted watches, necklaces and earrings from an exhibition being held on the ground floor of the hotel and later fled on foot. | |
Hotel staff have complained about inadequate security at the exhibition, saying it was held in a wing that had direct street access. | |
Police also say they had not been alerted that the exhibition was taking place, which they say should have been standard procedure. | |
One line of inquiry is likely to focus on the Pink Panther network, a gang that has carried out gem raids in other countries. One of its members - a Bosnian - escaped from a Swiss prison on Thursday, with help from accomplices. | One line of inquiry is likely to focus on the Pink Panther network, a gang that has carried out gem raids in other countries. One of its members - a Bosnian - escaped from a Swiss prison on Thursday, with help from accomplices. |
With the new estimate, the Cannes robbery would equal - or even surpass - one of the most valuable diamond heists in recent years at Antwerp Diamond Centre in Belgium in 2003. | |
Up to 100m euros worth of jewels vanished from the vaults of Antwerp's diamond district believed to be carried out by an Italian gang. | |
The latest Cannes theft has also eclipsed a 2008 incident in France, when three men stole almost every piece on display at a jewellery exhibition in Paris with an estimated value of 85m euros. | |
The Carlton is located on the Croisette promenade, one of the most prestigious locations in the town. | The Carlton is located on the Croisette promenade, one of the most prestigious locations in the town. |
Alfred Hitchcock used the hotel for his 1955 film To Catch A Thief, which portrayed a jewel thief operating in the French Riviera. | Alfred Hitchcock used the hotel for his 1955 film To Catch A Thief, which portrayed a jewel thief operating in the French Riviera. |
The hotel saw another robbery in August 1994, when gunmen burst into its jewellery store just as it was closing and made off with jewels then valued at £30m. |