Gas robberies of rich-listers come to light on Riviera

Jenson Button and his wife Jessica were possibly gassed before being burgled as they slept. Photo / AP

It is a magnet for oligarchs, billionaires and stars who come to relax in the sun. But St Tropez has proven equally irresistible for crime gangs, as latest celebrity victim Jenson Button has discovered.

While the Formula One driver and his wife, Jessica, slept in their luxury villa, burglars stole items worth 300,000 ($702,000) including her engagement ring. Police and prosecutors have expressed scepticism about a claim that professional thieves used gas pumped through the air conditioning to render the couple unconscious before entering.

But private investigator Patrick Boffa said the incident is just the latest in a spate of similar crimes to have hit this opulent pocket of the French Riviera. He investigated two cases two years ago, barely 8km from the villa rented by Button, in which the victims were reportedly gassed. He said the victims decided not to notify police of the thefts.

Boffa claimed the French authorities were playing down the risk of gas attacks. "They're trying to minimise it so they don't scare away wealthy visitors, especially the Russians who'll stop coming if they think they can be targeted."

Other high-profile thefts in the area came to light in the local French press yesterday. French fashion designer Daniel Hechter, and the late spy novelist Gerard de Villiers, were both burgled at properties very near the one rented by Button, it was reported.

The results of blood and urine samples from the couple will be known later this week. Two intruders were reportedly picked up on CCTV.

"Just as the holiday clientele here is exclusive, the criminals who come here to target them are also a cut above the average burglar," a police source said. "They're highly skilled, well-organised and well informed. They track their victims' movements for days or even weeks before they strike."

Not all are convinced by the claims. French police said they knew of no cases in the Saint-Tropez area where gas was used to render victims unconscious. The Royal College of Anaesthetists said it was extremely unlikely that an anaesthetic gas was employed but could not rule out the use of another kind of gas.