William Molinié, edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: Philipp von Ditfurth / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP 05:48, February 26, 2024
Celebrities, influencers, business leaders and sometimes even individuals are targeted by teams of violent burglars, sometimes professional or opportunistic.
Europe 1 profiles the two main types of suspect, while nine incidents of “home-jacking” are recorded each week in France.
Bruno Guillon, Just Riadh, Vitaa... Celebrities, and sometimes even individuals, have been targeted by teams of violent burglars who do not hesitate to tie up their victims to gain access to safes and jewelry.
Around nine incidents of "home-jacking" are recorded every week in France, and they are committed by different types of robbers.
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On the one hand, there are the robbery professionals, those who attacked cash conveyors and banks in the 1990s.
They are seasoned, do scouting, and target the richest people: football players, business leaders or celebrities.
They manage to bypass the security measures, although reinforced, in their victims' villas.
On the other side, we find small city bosses, sometimes minor, opportunistic.
They spot their prey on social networks, for example influencers who show off their jewelry or luxury bags in videos.
“Some victims have even been geolocated by these criminals who use object and building recognition software,” explains a specialized police officer to Europe 1.
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Around 500 incidents of this type have been recorded in France in 2023. Half of the investigations are resolved by investigators.
A drop in the ocean compared to the 200,000 classic burglaries recorded each year by the police.
Homejacking, beyond the material damage, leaves psychological scars on the victims, attacked in their privacy, within their own home.