A gangster who stole designer watches worth €1.7 million (£1.2 million) from a Cannes jewellers and taunted police for two years with pictures of himself enjoying a luxurious lifestyle in Morocco has been arrested.
NabiI Ibelati, 29, who has French and Moroccan nationality, had been on the run since July 2013, when he burst into Kronometry jewellers on the Cannes “croisette” in broad daylight with a pistol and grenade rifle, tied up staff and made off with 100 luxury watches.
An accomplice and a brother of Ibelati were arrested six months later inFrance, but Ibelati fled to Morocco, posting regular Facebook pictures that showed him living the high life: relaxing in an infinity pool, enjoying a formal dinner and riding a camel in the desert.
The fugitive made an estimated €350,000 from selling some of the stolen watches. He reportedly invested some of his ill-gotten gains into a stake in a private beach, a garage and a car wash. French officials told Le Parisien: “He thinks he’s untouchable due to his double nationality and has decided to show off.”
Ibelati was tried in absentia in France and sentenced on August 7 to ten years in prison. The court in Grasse, near Cannes on the French Riviera, also fined Ibelati €200,000 and ordered him to repay €1.7 million to cover the loss of the watches.
Moroccan authorities arrested Ibelati on Saturday, after secretly recording members of his entourage discussing his movements.
Ibelati is currently in a Moroccan prison and may remain there, since Morocco rarely grants extradition requests to France.
Henry Samuel writing in the Telegraph
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