Gas Attacks - 5 Point Brief

One of the most commonly debated topics amongst the security community in Southern France is whether criminals are using gas to sedate occupants of large villas before stealing their valuable possessions. The debate has been ongoing over the last 20 years with the media reporting several high profile victims including Jenson Button, Patrick Viera, Richard Hammond, Trinny & Susannah.

Westacre Security have investigated this issue on several occasions in the past, seeking advice from medical experts and specialist ventilation consultants. The findings of our previous investigations were inconclusive, however, here’s five things we can be sure of:

1 - FEELING AMONGST THE WEALTHY

Speak to any family who owns a €10m+ villa between Saint-Tropez and Monaco and they’ll have a story of someone they know who has been gassed. Reports of post-raid dizziness, headaches, vomiting and sore throats are often accompanied by the shock of waking up to find your whole property has been ransacked. Cynics might argue these are people carrying out insurance fraud, but gas attacks are no myth amongst the high-net-worth community.

2 - THE TECHNOLOGY IS POSSIBLE

Some doubt has been cast over the medical legitimacy of using gas to render occupants unconscious in a large space without directing the flow of gas at the victim in concentrated amounts (that is assuming that they criminals are not in fact able to do this). Reports of small motorhomes being targeted with gas in France, Spain and Italy are often reported but the doubt comes from the much larger open spaces associated with attacks on large villas. However, during the Moscow Theatre Siege in 2002, it was subsequently admitted by Russian authorities that they had used an anaesthetic gas in the Special Forces raid which brought an end to the crisis. Another common misconception is the method of dissemination - like in the Moscow incident, it was widely assumed that the ventilation or air-conditioning system was used as an entry point for the gas. Whilst air-conditioning systems typically operate a ‘closed loop’ system, it is indeed possible to inject fresh air (or therefore, gas) into the system’s fresh air intake (if it has one) or by tampering with the pipework. Potentially a far easier method might be used by simply inserting the gas hose through an open window or down a chimney.

3 - BLACK MARKET GAS

Another argument against the legitimacy of gas attacks is the fact that you would need such high quantities of gas in order to be effective in multiple rooms in a large property. Where would you get this large amount of gas from? Well, from the same place you get anything else on the Côte d'Azur black market - driven in from former Soviet states through the Schengen border system.

4 - BURGLARS ARE OPERATING UNCHALLENGED

If the whole gas attack theory is in fact a myth, then how are burglars able to spend long periods of time (in some cases, most of the night!) free to roam the property, meticulously removing anything of value including jewellery and watches from sleeping victims? If it’s not gas, then it must be something else - as yet, nobody is able to offer a reasonable alternative explanation, which is mainly why most people continue to believe the gas theory.

5 - THE FRENCH AUTHORITIES DON’T DENY IT

French National Police and Gendarmerie don’t tend to confirm or deny the use of gas in these raids. This may be nothing significant as they tend not to report much as far as high-net-worth raids go.

Whether gas attacks are true or not, we have to assume the criminals are indeed capable of using gas to assist them in carrying out their raids, and we certainly know the technology makes this possible. Despite all the reports of gas attacks, one thing you never hear of is families who have security (as in physical manpower) being attacked with gas - so like all the other specific threats, having security just encourages the criminals to take on a softer target.