PARIS — When diamond thieves struck a Harry Winston jewelry store with clockwork precision, it appeared to be a perfectly executed $100 million heist. But a video of their 2008 caper in the capital’s golden triangle of luxury boutiques, playing in a courtroom here, offers a grainy trailer of comedy and greed.
On the video are glimpses of four men, most dressed as caricatures of women in flowing dark wigs, handbags and sunglasses, and one with a silky scarf knotted under the chin, granny-style. There are telling moments when a Harry Winston guard, ignoring the thieves’ peculiar costumes, unlocks the revolving doors to allow them to storm inside. And the video shows how, about 10 minutes later, he held the door as they fled, rolling a bag of gems into the chic quarter of Avenue Montaigne.
Now that guard, Mouloud Djennad, 39, is admitting he was the “inside man” — one of eight men on trial in a Harry Winston holdup in October 2007, in which the thieves were disguised as painters, as well as the one in December 2008 that was carried out in women’s clothes. Between the two, more than 900 gems were stolen, including emeralds, diamonds and a 31-carat solitaire ring that itself was valued at more than $8 million.
Mr. Djennad’s defense is no less audacious than the robberies. “I was stupid, impressionable, lost,” he said. “I was not able to say no.”
–
“Oh, people communicated by word of mouth, among their friends,” said Mr. Yahiaoui, who faces up to 30 years.
Farid Allou, 49, who has spent almost half his life in prison, was one of the few suspects who emphatically admitted his participation in the robberies, but refused to identify anyone else. To date, there are still about 500 gems that have not been recovered.
“I was invited and the door was open,” he said, glaring at the judges. “It was not a game. Not at all. I went to Harry Winston for the money and it was very serious.”
