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Four French men travelled to Australia’s capital to carry out a multi-million-dollar heist which included a Swiss-made “Smiley” watch worth A$5m ($3.3m, \u00a32.5m), police say.<\/p>\n
The quartet came to Australia in October and broke into a property in Canberra, where they allegedly made off with more than 70 items.<\/p>\n
Luxury handbags, jewellery and high-end watches – including a Richard Mille model with a yellow gold smiley face and pink flamingo – were among the stolen items.<\/p>\n
Four days after the burglary, the men – aged between 28 and 37 – were arrested at a KFC outlet in Sydney. They were present in court on Thursday and are due to return in January.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“I’ve been in the job for a long time. I’ve never seen a burglary of this magnitude\u2026 and with people flying over from the other side of the world,” Detective Acting Inspector Battye told news outlet ABC, adding that the crime was “like a movie”. <\/p>\n
During their investigation, police raided a rented Sydney property where they found some of the stolen items, including several handbags from French brand Hermes.<\/p>\n
Police also said items allegedly stolen during a separate burglary in Vaucluse, an affluent Sydney suburb, and sent to France have since been recovered by French authorities.<\/p>\n
Also still missing are two Hermes rings including a diamond double ring, a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace featuring its four-leaf clover designs and two Patek Philippe watches. <\/p>\n
Police said these items were “distinctive, valuable and cannot be easily on-sold”.<\/p>\n
“These incidents are believed to have been a targeted operation by the alleged offenders, who travelled to Australia specifically to commit these offences,” police said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n