US$136m in gems now estimated to have been stolen in Cannes heist
Prosecutor probing US$136m French Riviera hotel heist says it was canny, quick and simple
Wearing a scarf to mask his face, the gunman sneaked into a posh Cannes hotel and held up a diamond show as three security guards looked on, then fled on foot about a minute later. In the end, he made off with a breathtaking US$136 million worth of valuables - the biggest jewellery heist in years, maybe ever.
It was a French Riviera robbery to make Hollywood scriptwriters smile. And it even happened at a hotel that was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's jewel-encrusted thriller To Catch a Thief.
A state prosecutor provided new details about Sunday's brazen heist at the Carlton Intercontinental hotel - not least that the loot was actually worth more than twice the €40 million (HK$412 million) estimate that police first announced.
The noon caper along the town's seaside promenade, La Croisette - a playground for the rich and famous, sunbathing tourists, and world cinema stars every year - looked set to dwarf the value of two other jewellery thefts in the Riviera during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
It also could eclipse two other big heists over the last decade. In 2008, thieves - some dressed in drag as women - stole €85 million in rings, necklaces and luxury watches from the Harry Winston store in Paris. A robbery five years earlier at Belgium's Antwerp Diamond Centre netted an estimated €109 million.