 A Frenchman who passed himself off as a relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad to rob wealthy Paris residences of their valuables has been jailed after some dogged police work, Le Figaro newspaper reported Thursday. Identified as Alexandre A., 21, the unemployed man confessed to police after his arrest this month that he was fascinated by the rich, the daily said. | "It's all that money. I can't resist it." |
Police said he had also pretended to be a relative of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Lebanese opposition politician General Michel Aoun. He admitted to having targeted 50 upmarket homes in Paris since February. He was caught following the robbery of a lavish address in the chic 16th arrondissement in the west of the city on June 9. Alexandre A. had already cased the place by dressing elegantly and presenting himself as a relative of Assad's who wanted to move to Paris and look at some property. He asked questions about the security system that allowed him to open the safe holding $630,000 in jewellery on a return visit. He locked the real-estate agent and the owner in one of the rooms by brandishing a fake pistol. A search of his home turned up the jewellery and the fake firearm. |