Paris is accustomed to spectacular and audacious robberies. Stylish jewellers in the heart of the French capital are attacked in broad daylight.
Criminals acquire almost admiring nicknames. The Gang of Postiches, active in the 1980s, specialised in fake wigs, beards and moustaches that gave them their name.
The notorious Pink Panthers got away with gems worth €80 million (Dh390.2m) in a raid on the Harry Winston jewellery shop in 2008.
When a Saudi prince’s convoy was ambushed on Sunday evening as it travelled from Paris to Le Bourget, an airport favoured by VIPs with private jets, the proceeds were relatively modest.
A gang of up to eight members escaped with €250,000 in banknotes stuffed inside a suitcase. But what the robbery lacked in terms of the haul, it made up for with drama and intrigue.
The victim was Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd Al Saud, 41, commonly described as the favourite son of the late King Fahd, who until recently was a minister of state and member of King Abdullah’s council of ministers.
The Saudi website riyadhconnect.com said he was relieved of his ministerial duties in April “upon his request”.
The robbery targeting Prince Abdulaziz was clinical, but without bloodshed.
When his entourage of a dozen vehicles left the plush George V hotel – owned by another Saudi prince, Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – off the Champs-Elysees, their movements were known to the gang.
It is a short drive of 18 kilometres from central Paris to Le Bourget, where one of the private jets at the prince’s disposal was waiting.
The convoy was brought to an abrupt halt at the city’s Porte de la Chapelle gate.
As the vehicles approached a ring road and A1 motorway, masked men in two BMWs with screened windows and no number plates struck.
The BMWs were used to block the leading vehicle, a Mercedes Viano that was slightly detached from the rest of the convoy, forcing the driver to stop. Also on board were a security officer and another official.
From the Mercedes, the robbers armed with handguns snatched the suitcase full of banknotes. No shots were fired and the ambush was over in little more than a minute.
The gang escaped with the Mercedes, which was later found burnt with one of the robbers’ BMWs in the village of Saint-Mesmes, 36 kilometres north-east of Paris. The fire destroyed any trace of fingerprints.
Rocco Contento, from the police union, told LCI Television that the hold-up was carried out by a “well-organised gang in a premeditated raid with knowledge of the route and timing of the convoy”.
A detective said the first indications were that the robbers were “quite expert” and fully aware that what they wanted was in the Mercedes.
Given the prince’s affluence, the robbers would have been disappointed with their haul. He has palaces in Saudi Arabia and substantial properties in Europe and the United States. The New York Times has said his wealth is “thought to be in billions”.
As the hunt for the attackers gets under way, attention was focused on how they were able to identify their target, his itinerary and his route.
As often occurs when a high-profile robbery is committed in France or neighbouring countries, early speculation suggested the possible involvement of career criminals from eastern Europe. Inevitably the Pink Panthers, originating in the Balkans and responsible for a string of smash-and-grabs in several countries, have been mentioned. But the Panthers typically aim for hauls worth millions of euros.
The Police said it was possible the prince was robbed by French gangsters with good inside information.
Le Monde asked: “Was he kept under surveillance or the victim of a leak from his entourage?”
It quoted a hotel concierge as saying: “Saudi princes travel a great deal, with their own staff, cooks, maids and bodyguards. They make little use of hotel staff.
“They are often suspicious and it is always difficult to predict the time of their arrival, as if they had no schedules.
“But it is easy to predict their departure, because most of the work then is to ensure that all the baggage is properly sent to the airport.”
The newspaper also reported that the presence of wealthy Arabs in central Paris was unlikely to go unnoticed. Intermediaries, often Lebanese or Egyptian, would visit them with “all sorts of propositions”, including jewellery, carpets and rugs or real estate.
It was not uncommon for a prosperous Saudi visitor to use cash to pay for expensive goods or lavish meals in top restaurants.
The police have become concerned about a spate of carjacking attacks on foreign visitors using luxury cars or showing other signs of wealth. The shopping habits of rich Arabs have been well documented in western media.
Another Saudi, a senior official from the sports ministry, was robbed of €200,000 in cash 14 months ago, when his car was forced to stop by bogus police officers on the motorway leading from Le Bourget into the capital.
Groups of Chinese tourists have also been mugged in and near Paris.
Such incidents led a committee representing 75 luxury goods companies, including Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dior and Hermes, to warn that tourists were being deterred by the city’s growing reputation for insecurity.
Pickpockets are rampant in areas popular with tourists and on the underground railway system, and there have been many cases of people being robbed while using cash machines.
Conscious of the popularity of Paris and the French Riviera among foreigners, some of whom carry large amounts of cash, the French government has sent a message of regret about the latest robbery to King Abdullah.
A swift investigation, as discreet as possible, has been promised.
Le Monde said the crime could hardly have happened at a worse time.
On September 1, the French president, Francois Hollande, and major French arms makers are due to host Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi Crown Prince, first deputy prime minister and defence minister.
newsdesk@thenational.ae