The Cannes jewel heist was anarmed robbery at the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes, a cityon the French Riviera. The thief stole gemstones and watchesultimately valued at $136 million (€103 million/£89 million).(Initial estimates had only reached $53 million (€37–38million/£33-34 million), as they had not taken into account anotherroom in the hotel.)
Theft
The valuables were stolen from aprivate hotel salon, which was very poorly guarded, the guards havingno weapons. The jewels were present due to a display by LevAvnerovich Leviev, the Israeli billionaire.
The armed thief was described as havinga baseball cap and scarf, carrying a handgun. The theft initiated amanhunt but no arrests were made. Milan Poparic, a known member ofthe Pink Panthers, an organized crime gang, has been suggested as apotential suspect, having escaped prison days before the heist. According to reporting by investigative journalist Ryan Jacobs, mostbelieve the thief was unlikely to be acting on his own.
The thief, carrying an automaticpistol, entered the salon through a french door, which might havebeen forced or left open, and picked up a sack containing 72 jewels,34 of which have been described as exceptional, in a suitcase. Theheist has been called the biggest heist ever in France, and possiblythe biggest heist of all time. The theft was at the same hotel whereAlfred Hitchcock's 1955 film To Catch a Thief was set.
The robbery was the third in theRiviera over a short period, following the theft from the Cannes FilmFestival of jewels worth $1.4 million, and the theft of a $1.9million necklace.
Reward
10 days after the heist SW Associates,working for the insurers Lloyd's of London, offered a $1.3 million(€1 million) reward to the first person to give information leadingto recovery of the stolen items, and released images of some of thestolen jewelry.
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