Cannes thief 'steals 40m euros of jewels' from hotel

28 July 2013 01:17 pm

An armed man has stolen jewels worth about 40m euros ($53m, £34m) in the French Riviera resort of Cannes, officials say.

They say the hold-up took place on Sunday morning at a jewellery exhibition at the Carlton Hotel.

The hotel is located on the Croisette promenade - one of the most prestigious locations in Cannes.

The Carlton Hotel in Cannes

It is the largest in a series of high-profile thefts in the town, which is famous for its annual film festival.

Local media said the robber made off with the jewels in a briefcase. It is not yet known who the owner was.

A Cannes police spokesman said: "A full an urgent operation is under way to catch the culprit and recover these jewels. Thieves see Cannes as rich pickings."

Cannes film festival, which attracts celebrities from around the world, was hit by two jewellery thefts in May this year.

A necklace by Swiss jeweller De Grisogono reportedly worth 1.9m euros ($2.5m, £1.6m) vanished after a celebrity party at a five-star hotel in the resort town of Cap d'Antibes.

A week before, more than 777,000 euros ($1m, £650,000) worth of jewels were taken from the hotel room of an employee of exclusive Swiss jewellers Chopard. (BBC)