Thirty past, he probably saw the blow of his life, the opportunity not to be missed. In September 2019, this man from Stains (Seine-Saint-Denis) who works in construction is sent to the south of France by his company. He must take care of the renovation of a shopping center in Saint-Laurent-du-Var. For days, in the false ceilings of the shopping mall, he overlooks luxury boutiques, including a jewelry store that makes him eye. A few days later, with a friend who came to spend the weekend in the Alpes-Maritimes, he decided to take the plunge.
In the middle of the night, on September 9, 2019, the two friends entered the ducts of the false ceiling of the supermarket, and managed to enter the jewelry store. An alarm is declared, but the two men have well planned their blow and are not spotted by the surveillance cameras. They can conscientiously take hold of the precious jewels displayed in this high-end boutique. In the early morning, the jeweler discovers many totally empty display cases. The damage exceeds 700,000 euros.
In charge of the investigation, the Nice judicial police undertakes a big job of technical and scientific police, and dissects days of video surveillance. The procedure, the use of false ceilings quickly makes them think that thieves know the place, are aware of the security breaches opened by the work, and may even be working on the site. "Another disturbing element reinforced this conviction," said a source close to the investigation. One of the workers present on the site for several weeks simply disappeared the day after the burglary. The surveillance camera tapes show him, a few days before the flight, locating the scene with another man, as if to describe where to go.
A plan not necessarily planned
However, for weeks, the investigators struggled to go back to these two men. The worker, who left his DNA on the spot, is finally located ... in prison. Her boyfriend, who has come for the weekend, is found in Stains. Tuesday morning, the police officers of the PJ of Nice and those of the Central Office of fight against organized crime (OCLCO), take action. The worker is extracted from prison, his friend and several of his relatives, suspected of having contributed to the concealment of jewelry are arrested.
On the spot, the investigators found nearly a quarter of the booty "proof that the two thieves had not necessarily planned their coup and had trouble selling the goods," said a source familiar with the matter. They saw an opportunity at 700,000 euros, they tried… ”
In police custody, the two men, already well known to the justice system for thefts, drug cases and violence, admitted the facts. They must be charged with aggravated theft.
