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Warning over Rolex thefts in Paris after 20 stolen in one weekend

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Warning over Rolex thefts in Paris after 20 stolen in one weekend
Illustration photo: AFP

Police have issued a warning to people wearing expensive watches in Paris after more than 20 designer watches were stolen over the weekend.

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More than 20 designer watches - the majority of them Rolex - were stolen in the capital over the weekend, according to French newspaper Le Parisien.

Some of the watches - the cheapest of which are worth around €4,500 - were stolen in the street, others taken from apartments.

One victim was robbed as she exited a restaurant in an expensive area near the Arc de Triomphe. 

She was attacked by several people who ripped the expensive watch off her wrist. A police officer quoted by Le Parisien said these kinds of thefts are done by gangs from the Parisian banlieues who “have understood the value of this business.” 

“They will scout bars and nightclubs for alcohol-affected victims, and are only interested in watches that are easily snatched,” the officer said.

Some of the Rolex thefts were more sophisticated. In one of this weekend’s cases, a businessman returned from holiday to find his apartment in the 16th arrondissement had been burgled and his watch collection stolen. Nineteen watches were gone, 11 of them Rolexes.
 
Another apartment in the 16th arrondissement had also been targeted.

The theft is part of an upsurge of burglaries targeting expensive Paris apartments, according to the police source. Over the past years international gangs have specialised in elaborate burglaries where one person climbs the building then opens a window for the rest.

READ ALSO: The five biggest jewellery heists France has ever seen

The now popular method was originally inspired by an infamous gang called the Pink Panthers, a Balkan-based gang who excelled in acrobatic break-ins. Watches, but also jewelry and art are popular targets, the policeman said.

 

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Anonymous 2020/01/09 01:21
Why are these gangs allowed to exist? Deport or jail these thugs. Next it will be purses or briefcases.
Anonymous 2020/01/06 11:17
Why wear watches? You're asking for trouble!<br />Smartphones ARE watches. DOH. <br />

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