Burglars break into Bin Laden family flat in Paris - but find nothing of value to steal

The burglary of a luxury Paris apartment belonging to the wealthy Bin Laden family saw thieves leave completely empty-handed – after they found nothing of value to steal.

On Friday (17 February), police discovered the suspects had managed to break into the fourth floor property in the exclusive Avenue Montaigne neighbourhood from the roof.

But the Bin Laden family owners – Saudi relatives of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden – said the thieves would have been disappointed, as the apartment was completely empty. A safe, which the burglars had opened with a blowtorch, was also bare, RTL radio reported.

Police in Paris are investigating but there have been no reported arrests. The burglary of the 200 metre squared flat, which is just a stone's throw away from the city's Grand Palais, is just the latest raid to target high-profile individuals in the city.

US reality TV star Kim Kardashian was tied up and robbed of around £8.5m (€10m, $10.6m) worth of jewellery while staying in Paris in October last year.

A month later, two Qatari women had €5m of valuables taken when their chauffeur-driven Bentley was held up on a motorway outside Paris by masked robbers.

In another suspected robbery the same month, Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat was punched in the face and sprayed with teargas by three masked men in an upmarket area of Paris.

The high-profile crimes in France's capital have done little to encourage the return of tourists since the November 2015 terrorist attacks, which left 130 people dead.

In August last year, Paris officials said the city had seen a €750m drop in revenues partly as a result of terrorism fears.