An audacious armed robber, disguised as a pensioner, made off with £2.5 million worth of jewelry after pulling a gun on a cashier at a luxury watch store in Monaco. The heist, which took place last Wednesday, involved the thief wearing a latex mask, a suit, and a flat cap to appear as an elderly man, successfully fooling passersby and the store staff.
The elaborate ruse began with the robber using a cane and pretending to hobble into the high-end store. CCTV footage captured the entire event, showing the spectacled man casually walking towards the till before pulling a handgun from his satchel. The shop assistant, visibly shocked, complied with the thief’s demands to fill a plastic bag with expensive timepieces.
The robbery lasted seven and a half minutes, during which the masked looter managed to swipe €3 million worth of jewelry. He meticulously ordered the shop worker to empty the window displays, all the while maintaining the appearance of a customer waiting to be served. At one point, he even sat on a chair, resting his arm on the counter to further blend in.
As the thief worked quickly to ransack the store, he sprayed the surfaces with a substance, presumably to erase any traces of his DNA. Once he had collected the valuables, he concealed them in a shopping bag and made his escape. The robber fled towards Beausoleil, about a mile inland from Monaco, on the back of a scooter driven by an accomplice.
Despite the presence of a gun, no shots were fired, and the salesperson was physically unharmed. However, she was taken to the hospital in a state of shock following the ordeal. The police are appealing for information as the shoplifter remains at large nearly a week later.
A police officer told French newspaper Le Figaro, “They are certainly not amateurs. It takes a lot of preparation to commit a robbery in broad daylight in Monaco, given the police presence on site and the general level of security.”
A spokesperson for the Monaco Watch Company addressed the incident, expressing gratitude for the support received from the community. “As many of you already know, a couple of days ago, our beloved shop was robbed. A masked man threatened our employee with a gun and forced her to empty the windows. Thankfully, no one was physically injured, but the shock is very deep.”
The spokesperson continued, “This brutal setback is hitting us all in the hardest way possible, but we won’t let ourselves down, especially because all of you are giving us a huge amount of strength to go through this hard period of time. With this video, we wanted to thank you all for your support and even more, the members who have the desire to leave their watches on consignment to us in order to reopen the shop as fast as possible with the maximum strength possible. Many thanks again to all of you from the bottom of our hearts for being so close to us.”
The daring heist has left Monaco’s tight-knit community rattled, highlighting the need for increased vigilance and security in even the most secure locales. As the investigation continues, authorities hope to swiftly bring the culprits to justice and recover the stolen items.
