Gharaana Dongalu

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[b] [font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]Value of Carlton jewellery heist raised to €102 million[/size][/font][/b]





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[b] [font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]The estimated value of the jewellery stolen from the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes in a weekend heist has been raised to more than €102 million, French prosecutors said Monday. Police previously said €40 million in jewels had been stolen.[/size][/font][/b]

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[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]By [url="http://www.france24.com/en/category/tags-auteurs/france-24"]FRANCE 24[/url] (text)[/size][/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]
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[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]The estimated value of the jewellery stolen from the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes at the weekend has been raised to more than €102 million ($136 million), French prosecutors said Monday.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]Police had previously said [url="http://www.france24.com/en/node/5435552"]€40 million in diamonds[/url] and other jewels had been stolen Sunday from a jewellery exhibition at the Carlton. The hotel, located on the French Riviera, was hosting a temporary exhibit from the Leviev diamond house, owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]A police spokesman told AP on condition of anonymity that the theft took place around noon, but he could not confirm earlier reports that the robber was a single gunman who made off with the gems in a suitcase.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]“Company officials are cooperating with local authorities investigating the loss and are relieved that no one was injured in the robbery,” Leviev said in a statement.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]The pieces were supposed to be on public display until the end of August.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]Hotels in Cannes appear to be a favourite target this year, with two highly publicised jewellery heists taking place in May during the Cannes Film Festival. [url="http://www.france24.com/en/node/5416643"]Thieves stole some €775,000 in jewels[/url] after removing a safe from the wall of a hotel room. In a later incident, thieves outsmarted 80 hotel security guards and grabbed a [url="http://www.france24.com/en/node/5418218"]De Grisogono necklace[/url] that creators said is worth €2 million.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4][b]Hollywood-style caper[/b][/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]The luxury Carlton hotel featured in the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film “To Catch a Thief”, which starred Cary Grant as a reformed burglar chasing a jewel thief with the help of co-star Grace Kelly.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]The hotel is situated on the Promenade de la Croisette, which stretches 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles) along the seaside and provides a long stretch of road that offers a quick getaway for thieves.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]Europe has been struck by several brazen jewellery thefts in recent years. Some $50 million in diamonds was stolen February 18 from a plane bound for Zurich in the diamond hub of Antwerp. Authorities have since detained dozens of people and recovered many of the stolen items.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]In December 2008, armed robbers wearing women’s wigs and clothing made off with diamond rings, gem-studded bracelets and other jewellery estimated to be worth $108 million from a Harry Winston boutique in Paris.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]In February of that year – and in a scene reminiscent of the movie “The Italian Job” – masked thieves drilled a tunnel into a Damiani jewelry showroom in Milan. They tied up the staff using plastic cables and tape, then made off with gold, diamonds and rubies worth some €15 million. The robbers had been digging for several weeks from a building under construction next door.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]The latest heist closely follows the escape from a Swiss prison last week of a member of the loosely affiliated Pink Panther jewel thief gang. Milan Poparic escaped July 25 after accomplices rammed a gate and overpowered guards with their AK-47s. Poparic is the third member of the Pink Panthers to escape from a Swiss prison in as many months.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4]Police say members of the Pink Panther network are prime suspects in a series of still-open burglary cases. According to Interpol, the group has targeted luxury watch and jewellery stores in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States, netting more than €330 million since 1999.[/size][/font]
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][size=4][i](FRANCE 24 with wires)[/i][/size][/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]