A gold and diamond-encrusted Hermès Birkin bag containing $9 million worth of jewels and cash was stolen at an airport check-in counter
A Russian family traveling through the Barcelona airport had a bag stolen at the check-in counter.
The Hermès Birkin bag was encrusted in diamonds and gold and carried nearly 10M in jewelry and cash.
Two thieves, identified by security footage, were arrested, and the valuables were returned.
Two travelers to the Barcelona airport carrying a fortune worth of jewelry and cash in a diamond-encrusted bag nearly left the country $9.3 million poorer after thieves snuck away with their luggage.
ABC News reported the pair were checking into an Emirates flight when two thieves nicked the Hermès Birkin bag and found a fortune inside.
The gold and diamond encrusted bag, which was sitting atop a Louis Vuitton suitcase when it was stolen according to aviation news outlet AeroTime, contained a 47-carat diamond ring worth $5 million, an $822,000 Chanel brooch, a Bvlgari watch worth about $990,000, plus diamond earrings valued at roughly half a million dollars, and $22,000 in cash in various currencies.
—Mossos (@mossos) August 4, 2023
The two thieves were identified and caught driving out of Barcelona thanks to security footage. The valuables were returned to their owners, according to a video posted to Twitter by Police Sub-Inspector Francesc Garcia of the Catalan Mossos D'esquadra.
The Catalan Mossos D'esquadra police did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
There have been a string of high-valued jewelry robberies in recent weeks, targeting travelers and retailers alike. CBS News reported a couple had $70,000 of jewelry stolen from their luggage at Boston Logan International Airport on July 26, and the BBC reported a trio of well-dressed thieves used an elaborate plan to snag $10 million worth of jewelry from a Paris boutique on July 29.
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