He earned the nickname "Le Chat" ("the Cat") for his agility and skill in scaling drainpipes, rooftops and Parisian building facades to carry out break-ins. His preferred targets: prominent public figures and wealthy victims, selected in advance. Two years after his release from prison, Mohamed S. is back in detention. The 34-year-old from the 18th arrondissement of Paris, who has already been convicted some 30 times (including 17 as a minor), was charged on Friday, April 24, with "theft as part of an organized gang" and "criminal conspiracy," the Paris prosecutors' office confirmed to Le Monde. He was placed in provisional detention.

Arrested in Paris on April 21, Mohamed S. is suspected of involvement in a recent series of acrobatic burglaries committed in the capital. The total value of goods stolen is estimated at nearly €10 million. Three other suspects were also charged and detained, including one of his former accomplices and ex-member of his gang, who was sentenced alongside him in 2022: Abdelazim G., 33, known as "Bidou."

The first burglary being investigated was committed at a company specializing in the resale of luxury leather goods in the upscale Faubourg-Saint-Honoré neighborhood in the 8th arrondissement. On the night of July 6, 2025, burglars entered the business through the roof. They disabled the security systems using a jamming device before stealing numerous high-end handbags, including 34 Hermès-branded bags valued at more than €800,000.

Six months later, on January 30, around 4 am, two masked burglars broke into the apartment of a Chinese dignitary on Avenue du Président-Kennedy in the 16th arrondissement, again entering via the building's roof and then going through the balcony's French door. After remotely disabling the alarm, they woke the victim and ordered him to hand over his Audemars Piguet watches.

When he resisted, the man, an extremely wealthy member of the Chinese Communist Party, was struck in the head with a crowbar, causing a bloody wound. The thieves then seized a collection of brooches, diamond jewelry and luxury watches before fleeing. This heist netted an estimated €8 million in loot.

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