The key facts
- In Vitrolles, a wholesale tobacco shop was robbed while the manager was held with an object resembling an explosive device strapped to him
- About 220 crates of cigarettes were stolen, valued at between 700 and 750 thousand euros according to various estimates
- Police are investigating: the identities of the suspects and the nature of the object have not yet been established
Robbery with a fake suicide belt
On November 5, in the town of Vitrolles in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France, two raiders broke into a wholesale tobacco shop and took the manager hostage, forcing him to comply with their demands. To intimidate him, they strapped an object to his belt that was believed to imitate an explosive device — whether it was actually dangerous remains unknown. This was reported, citing BFMTV, by Life.ru.
What was stolen and the amount of damage
The perpetrators carried out about 220 crates of tobacco products, loaded them into two Renault Master vans and fled. Estimates of the damage in local media differ: BFMTV initially reported a sum of more than 700 thousand euros, while according to updated data from the outlet Maritima, the value of the stolen cigarettes may reach 750 thousand euros.
The investigation
French police have launched an investigation. Law enforcement officers will have to establish the identities of the suspects, locate the stolen goods and determine what the object used to threaten the manager actually was. So far, no arrests have been reported, nor has it been disclosed whether the vehicles were found.
