Homeless man who stole €500k from Paris airport finally snared
A homeless man who stole half a million euros in cash from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris before disappearing without trace has finally been tracked down. But where's his loot.
The story of the homeless man turned Paris police's most wanted fugitive made headlines in France and internationally.
How did a homeless man who spent his time living out of bins at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris somehow steal with half a million euros of cash and then simply disappear without a trace?
That was the question people and even the police themselves have been asking since December 8th when the man took a chance and pushed open the door of an office belonging to Loomis, a company which handles cash deliveries to and from businesses.
He emerged with nearly half a million euros in cash and then went off the radar.
This week however it emerged that police had finally tracked him down to a shelter in La Courneuve, a suburb to the north of Paris. He was arrested after a simple identity check.
The fugitive recognised he was the thief, but when asked about the plunder, he told officers he had been kidnapped and beaten up before being robbed of most of the cash.
He also said he had spent a little of the cash and given some to friends.
While police will be glad to have finally got their man, it seems they have their work cut out to get their hands on the cash.
To make matters worse the sacks of money were not booby-trapped with indelible ink, as most often are and did not contain any GPS tracker.
"It seems the money stolen that day came from a fresh collection and therefore these notes are untracable," the police source told Le Parisien.
"And as for serial numbers on the notes, the only bank notes whose numbers are listed are those that come from the Bank of France."
Comments
See Also
The story of the homeless man turned Paris police's most wanted fugitive made headlines in France and internationally.
How did a homeless man who spent his time living out of bins at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris somehow steal with half a million euros of cash and then simply disappear without a trace?
That was the question people and even the police themselves have been asking since December 8th when the man took a chance and pushed open the door of an office belonging to Loomis, a company which handles cash deliveries to and from businesses.
He emerged with nearly half a million euros in cash and then went off the radar.
This week however it emerged that police had finally tracked him down to a shelter in La Courneuve, a suburb to the north of Paris. He was arrested after a simple identity check.
The fugitive recognised he was the thief, but when asked about the plunder, he told officers he had been kidnapped and beaten up before being robbed of most of the cash.
He also said he had spent a little of the cash and given some to friends.
While police will be glad to have finally got their man, it seems they have their work cut out to get their hands on the cash.
To make matters worse the sacks of money were not booby-trapped with indelible ink, as most often are and did not contain any GPS tracker.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.