{"id":7277,"date":"2013-07-28T22:45:01","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T22:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/lone-gunman-steals-jewels-worth-50m-in-cannes\/"},"modified":"2013-07-28T22:45:01","modified_gmt":"2013-07-28T22:45:01","slug":"lone-gunman-steals-jewels-worth-50m-in-cannes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/lone-gunman-steals-jewels-worth-50m-in-cannes\/","title":{"rendered":"Lone gunman steals jewels worth $50m in Cannes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NICE, July 28, 2013 (AFP) – An armed man stole jewels with an estimated value of 40 million euros ($ 53 million) in a brazen heist in broad daylight at a diamond exhibition in the French Riviera resort of Cannes Sunday, investigators said.<\/p>\n

The hold-up, at the Carlton Hotel on the promenade in Cannes, famous for its annual film festival, would be the second largest ever in France if the value of the jewels is confirmed.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the robbery took place around 11:30 am local time (0930 GMT) and targeted an exhibition entitled “Extraordinary Diamonds” by the Leviev jewellery house.<\/p>\n

A lone gunman, wearing a baseball cap with his face hidden by a “bandana or scarf”, entered the hotel through a front entrance undisturbed as security guards patrolled the premises, according to the prosecutor’s office.<\/p>\n

“It all happened very quickly and without any violence,” it said, adding that the robber, armed with a semi-automatic pistol, escaped with a briefcase containing jewels and watches encrusted with diamonds.<\/p>\n

Police said they had not been alerted that the exhibition was taking place, which while not a legal requirement would ordinarily be standard procedure for luxury hotels such as the Carlton.<\/p>\n

The “Extraordinary Diamonds” exhibition was held in a wing of the hotel with direct access to the street.<\/p>\n

Huge posters of the diamonds with images of pink flowers had been affixed to the walls to advertise the jewels’ presence to the public.<\/p>\n

On its website, Leviev, which opened its first jewellery store in London on Old Bond Street in 2006, claims to have access to stones “among the most outstanding in the world.”<\/p>\n

An inventory was now underway, and should be completed by Monday, a source close to the investigation said. The estimate of 40 million could not be confirmed, but “tens of millions of euros” were likely to have been lost, the source said.<\/p>\n

The management at the Carlton Hotel declined to comment when contacted by AFP, saying they had “instructions not to say anything.”<\/p>\n

The Carlton was the location for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 Oscar-winning thriller “To Catch A Thief”, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.<\/p>\n

The diamond heist was one of the largest in recent years in France.<\/p>\n

In the country’s biggest ever robbery, which took place in 2008, three men stole almost every piece on display at a jewellery exhibition in Paris with an estimated value of 85 million euros.<\/p>\n

Cannes has fallen prey to thieves several times recently, notably during this year’s film festival, which attracts a glittering array of celebrities from the movie world.<\/p>\n

In a pre-dawn heist at a hotel during the festival in May, thieves stole jewellery worth $ 1.4 million due to be loaned to movie stars.<\/p>\n

That robbery took place in the hotel room of an American employee of Swiss jeweller Chopard while she was out for the evening, police said.<\/p>\n

In a scene straight from a Hollywood film, a strongbox containing jewels was ripped out of the wardrobe and carried off, they said.<\/p>\n

In a second theft during the festival, robbers made off with a diamond necklace with an estimated value of $ 1.9 million.<\/p>\n

At least two apartments rented by film executives were also burgled during the 2013 festival, with thieves taking cash, jewellery and other personal items.<\/p>\n

And in 2012, thieves made off with four watches worth 400,000 euros belonging to football stars Souleymane Diawara and Mamadou Niang, who were in Cannes for the festival.<\/p>\n

The world’s biggest diamond theft occurred in February 2003 in the northern Belgian city of Antwerp, when robbers got away with jewels worth an estimated 100 million euros.<\/p>\n

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