theft

Police unit in Paris suburbs disbanded over extorsion, theft scandal

France — Link

A French police brigade based in the Seine-Saint-Denis département (county) that rings north-east Paris has been disolved after four of its officers were placed under investigation on Thursday for alleged extorsion, theft, and posession of drugs, and three of them for violence, while further investigations are underway into other accusations against members of the unit.

French couple face jail for 'stealing' sand from Sardinian beach

International — Link

A French couple are facing prosecution and a possible jail term of between one and six years after Italian police found 40 kilos of sand they took from a beach in Chia, southern Sardinia, crammed into plastic bottles in the boot of their vehicle.

Rare cello robbed at knifepoint returned to French musician

France — Link

Award-winning cellist Ophélie Gaillard was robbed by a knife-wielding thief of her 18th-century cello, estimated to be worth 1.3 million euros, outside her home in the Paris suburb of Pantin on Thursday, but after an impassioned appeal for its return relayed by social media she received an anonymous call to inform her it had been placed in a car in front of her house, where she found it.

'Spider Man' thief jailed for Paris museum artwork heist

France — Link

A Paris court on Monday handed Vjeran Tomic, 49, nicknamed 'Spider Man' for his climbing exploits to steal valuable gems and works of art from Parisian apartments and museums, and two accomplices jail sentences of between six and eight years and a fine of 104 million euros over a 2010 theft from the Musée d’Art Moderne of a Matisse, a Picasso, a Braque, a Léger and a Modigliani, none of which have ever been found.

Paris auction workers jailed over theft scam

France — Link

Total of 35 porters at leading auction house Hotel Drouot jailed for stealing thousands of items in case which has shocked France's art world.

French Pyrenees priest admits stealing 700,000 euros of church funds

France — Link

Retired priest René Heuillet, 80, admitted pocketing church collections between 1987 and 2013, plus 100,000 euros from sales of votive candles.

Grenades, plastic explosives and detonators stolen from French military base

France — Link

The theft at the high-security Miramas base in southern France is thought to have happened overnight Sunday when part of a fence was cut open.

Thieves grab 'rare and fragile' monkeys from French zoo

France — Link

The ten silver marmosets and seven lion tamarins stolen from Beauval zoo in central France were part of an international breeding programme.

Paris thieves steal jewels 'worth 5 mln euros' from Taiwanese art dealer

International — Link

The robbers smashed the windows of the art collector's taxi in a motorway tunnel near Paris during a traffic jam, running off with a handbag.

'Priceless' artworks stolen from Chinese Museum in France

France — Link

The 15 works taken from the museum at Fontainebleau include a replica crown of the King of Siam given to France in the 19th century.

Stolen Picasso to be returned to France

France — Link

La Coiffeuse, owned by French state and reported missing in 2001, was smuggled into the US from Belgium last December in a parcel.

High-tech equipment stolen on French-built warship destined for Russia

International — Link

Hard drives, communications equipment were stolen from one of two helicopter-carriers at the heart of a Paris-Moscow diplomatic row.

Gunmen attack Saudi prince's motorcade in Paris

International — Link

A gang of eight heavily-armed men stole 250,000 euros and reportedly 'sensitive' documents from the convoy heading for Le Bourget airport.

Paris police HQ drugs theft case mystery deepens

France — Link

A week after a drugs squad officer was accused of stealing 52 kilos of cocaine, the facts are proving stranger than fiction.

Paris policeman jailed over cocaine theft

France — Link

The drugs squad officer has been formerly placed under investigation on suspicion of stealing more than 50 kgs of seized drug stash.