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BFF-67
FRANCE-RUSSIA-TOURISM-CRIME
Paris smash-and-grab thieves snatch luxury haul from Russian tourists
BOBIGNY, France, Sept 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Three Russian tourists were
robbed of thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry and luxury clothing shortly
after landing at a Paris airport for private jets, police sources told AFP on
Tuesday.
The tourists were in a taxi leaving the Bourget airport north of Paris at
around 10:30 pm (0830 GMT) on Monday when they were struck by a car carrying
four people wearing ski masks, the sources said.
The thieves made off with three suitcases that the victims said contained
items worth $500,000 to $1 million (430,000 to 864,000 euros). Nobody was
injured.
Hit-and-run as well as “snatching” robberies targeting taxis and other cars
heading to and from Paris airports have become a common tactic in recent
years by thieves hoping to strike big-spending tourists.
On April 15, 2015, three thieves made off with a handbag containing four
million euros worth of Chanel jewels in a smash-and-grab attack on a taxi
carrying a Taiwanese art collector.
In February, 2017, a Russia couple were robbed of jewellery and luxury
goods worth some 100,000 euros when their chauffeur-driven car was forced off
the road by robbers near Le Bourget airport.
In March, 14 youths suspected of carrying out 88 such attacks over little
more than a year were arrested by French police.
Chinese tourists staying in hotels near the capital’s two main airports,
Charles de Gaulle-Roissy and Orly, are often targeted in particular given
their reputation for carrying large amounts of cash.
The Bourget airport serves only corporate and private jets favoured by
wealthy travellers.
BSS/AFP/MRI/2210 HRS