Luxury watch thieves prey on French Riviera rich

CANNES, France (AFP) - Police on the French Riviera are on the hunt for a gang who have made off with more than a million euros' worth of luxury watches, all ripped from the wrists of their wealthy owners.

The thieves have been operating on the southern French coast since mid-July.

Among their victims was a Russian who was robbed of his 550,000 euros (S$838,917) Richard Mille timepiece as he returned to his Cannes weekend residence in a Bentley, and a Ferrari owner who was deprived of a watch valued at 70,000 euros.

The gang's modus operandi involves identifying the owners of valuable watches and then following them to their cars.