Four French men accused of A$10m Australia jewellery heist

Four French men purposely travelled to Australia’s capital city to allegedly carry out a multi-million-dollar heist which included a Swiss-made “Smiley” watch worth A$5m ($3.3m, £2.5m), police say.

The quartet came to Australia in October and broke into a property in Canberra, where they allegedly made off with more than 70 items.

Luxury handbags, jewellery and high-end watches – including a Richard Mille model with a yellow gold smiley face and pink flamingo – were among the stolen items.

Four days after the burglary, the men – aged between 28 and 37 – were arrested at a KFC outlet in Sydney. They were present in court on Thursday and are due to return in January.

“I’ve been in the job for a long time. I’ve never seen a burglary of this magnitude … and with people flying over from the other side of the world,” Detective Acting Inspector Battye told news outlet ABC, adding that the crime was “like a movie”.

During their investigation, police raided a rented Sydney property where they found some of the stolen items including several handbags from French brand Hermes.

Police also said items allegedly stolen during a separate burglary in Vaucluse, an affluent Sydney suburb, and sent to France have since been recovered by French authorities.

Police also said items allegedly stolen during a separate burglary in Vaucluse, an affluent Sydney suburb, and sent to France have since been recovered by French authorities.

Also still missing are two Hermes rings including a diamond double ring, a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace featuring its four-leaf clover designs and and two Patek Philippe watches.

Police said these items were “distinctive, valuable and cannot be easily on-sold”.

“These incidents are believed to have been a targeted operation by the alleged offenders, who travelled to Australia specifically to commit these offences,” police said.