Thieves return stolen goods addressed to French police

A gang of French thieves returned some of their loot on Christmas Eve when they discovered it was addressed to local police. The boxes of armbands and other items of police uniforms were found outside the police station in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier near the central French city of Lyon early in the morning on 24 December.

French police Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

Two days after the theft the thieves left the goods outside the police station with a note

pointing out that they had not used weapons during the robbery and wishing the recipients a happy Christmas.

"It shows that Christmas magic can still work, even for crooks," declared public prosecutor Matthieu Bourette facetiously.

But he added that the five suspects, who wore masks when they committed the crime, were still wanted.

They may have given back the police's property but they have kept the rest of their haul, luxury goods made by Louis Vuitton, he pointed out.