Greatest robbery of jewels

At lunchtime on 28 July 2013, an armed man entered the Carlton International hotel in Cannes, France. His target: jewellery worth $137m. He single-handedly pulled off the biggest diamond heist ever, in just one-and-a-half minutes. The diamond-encrusted rings, earrings and watches he stole belonged to Lev Leviev – a Soviet-born Israeli diamond and property mogul – and had been on display in a widely advertised exhibition at the hotel. At the time, police in Cannes were unaware that the exhibition was taking place, and the thief took full advantage of the discreet security measures. Diamonds remain one of the most sought-after objects for theft owing to their value and difficulty in tracing ownership.