French thieves posed as Gulf tourists to steal hotel safes

The thieves – armed with a stethoscope and a chisel – would typically find out the room number of wealthy Gulf visitors, then pose as them at the reception desk, saying that they had lost their key.

PARIS // Two men suspected of stealing safes out of a dozen hotel rooms by posing as wealthy Gulf tourists have been arrested in France, police said on Saturday.

The thefts took place at a range of high-end hotels dotted across France, from Monaco and Nice to the chic suburbs of Paris.

The thieves – armed with a chisel and a stethoscope – would typically find out the room number of wealthy Gulf visitors, then pose as them at the reception desk, saying that they had lost their key.

Using the stethoscope, they would listen at the room door to ensure that no one was inside. They would then use the chisel to remove the safe from the wall, place it in a suitcase and calmly leave.

The suspects, aged 56 and 31, were finally caught at a hotel in the central French town of Saint-Etienne on August 24 after being identified from the video surveillance of a previous heist.

According to France’s RTL radio, police have since found €80,000 (Dh328,534) worth of jewellery, luxury clothes and foreign currency – mostly from Gulf countries – in their possession.

They also found 20 hotel room key cards, a stethoscope, hammer and chisel.

* Agence France-Presse