A gang of cat burglars accused of scaling buildings to steal millions in jewelry, fashion items and other valuables from rich and famous people, including Paris Saint-Germain star Thiago Silva, went on trial in Paris yesterday.
The group of seven men and one woman is believed to have burgled not just top players from the soccer team, but also music and TV personalities.
Silva — PSG’s captain at the time, but who now plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League — returned home after a first division match on Dec. 23, 2018, to find his safe, jewelry and watches worth a combined 1.2 million euros (US$1.4 million) were gone.
Surveillance camera footage showed two men climbing a drainpipe and entering Silva’s mansion through a French window. Minutes later, they reappeared, apparently carrying their loot in a backpack and a suitcase they took from the house.
Less than a month earlier another PSG player, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, was burgled of 600,000 euros of leather goods and jewelry while he was on the pitch playing a Champions League match.
The investigation first led police to two potential suspects, and then a third. Thanks to telephone taps and tails on the three, police identified a group of seven men in their 20s based in a Paris neighborhood known as the Goutte d’Or (Drop of Gold), and the two vehicles they used.
After arresting them in August 2019, police came to believe that the gang had also carried out a burglary a year earlier at the home of French rapper Elie Yaffa, better known as Booba.
Operating in units of two, three or four, they are also suspected of stealing from the homes of TV host Patrick Sebastien, celebrity chef Jean-Pierre Vigato and an unnamed wealthy Saudi Arabian national, taking a combined 4.2 million euros of goods.
Police seized bracelets, rings, watches and bags in the apartment of a young woman in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of the capital, with some items identified by their rightful owners.
The detectives also found weapons, bulletproof vests, a hydraulic jack and a crowbar in the apartment.
At first the suspects denied everything, but over the past year, investigators made inroads on the gang, with members admitting to some of the accusations, or claiming that they were only on lookout while others carried out the thefts.
Some have also claimed that the estimates of their haul were exaggerated given that some of the stolen pieces turned out to be fakes.
Prosecutors say they have identified the two masterminds of the heists, which all involved breaking in through windows while the occupants were away.
One is Mohamed S, who due to his climbing prowess is known as either “Jet Li” after the martial arts film actor, or as “The Cat” — a nickname he rejects.
The other is Abdelazim G, who goes by the nickname “Bidou” — or “Kid.”
The tenant of the Aubervilliers apartment is charged with receiving stolen goods, illegal possession of arms and membership of a criminal organization.
She has denied all accusations.
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