‘Rabbinical’ robbers clean out jeweler

Four armed robbers, some of whom were “dressed like haredis” ripped off a Jewish jeweler’s shop in Marseille, France, Wednesday before releasing toxic gas in the air, French media reported.

Two were in ultra-Orthodox garb, according to the French news agency AFP, and two wore masks. At least one of the robbers was toting an AK-47 assault rifle, the report said.

It was a curious case of life imitating art (minus the gas). The opening credits to Guy Ritchie’s quirky 2000 crime romp, Snatch, rolled against the backdrop of a similar scene. A group of four “Orthodox Jews” enter the well-secured offices of a Jewish diamond merchant in Antwerp. After passing armed guards, they make their way to the office, produce their weapons and proceed to relieve the merchants of their many high-quality diamonds. The men then make their escape, but not before slapping around some “real” Orthodox Jews.

http://youtu.be/nXfb2iSh7Ss

In Marseille, the men kidnapped the jeweler, who was not named, and forced him to open his shop. After the robbery, they released a gas that caused “skin irritation and breathing difficulties” to about 30 residents of nearby apartments, news site La Depeche reported.

Residents called the police to report the gas as the suspects drove away, taking the Jewish jeweler with them as a hostage. They left him unharmed inside the car on a freeway outside Marseille, took another car and drove away.

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