Brazil football legend Zico was targeted during a distraction theft in France ahead of the Paris Olympics grand opening after his briefcase containing a reported £420,000 worth of jewels and banknotes was stolen, Ednews reports citing Daily Mail.
France is set to officially mark the opening of the Games on Friday evening and is already having its security status tested after Zico had his luxury goods taken while traveling in a taxi.
The 71-year-old had traveled to France to watch the Olympics get underway and is now the alleged victim of a frightening ordeal that has seen him suffer a huge financial loss.
Zico left his hotel in Paris and was traveling with a briefcase containing a diamond necklace, cash, and a high-end luxury Rolex watch, as reported by Le Parisien.
It was during the taxi journey that it was reported his vehicle was approached by one individual tasked with distracting the driver while another approached the rear of the car.
Zico's briefcase was then snatched and the pair quickly made off as the Brazilian lost his chest of valuables during an orchestrated operation carried out in the Olympics host city.
Police have now begun an investigation into the incident and France's Brigade for the Repression of Banditry is expected to be in charge of finding the perpetrators.
Zico is in Paris as part of Brazil's Olympics delegation that has seen a host of athletes make the trip from the South American nation and hope to lift titles in football and other events.
Other similar incidents are also reported to have taken place at the Games with Argentina head coach Javier Mascherano complaining that his team's Olympic training base was robbed before their game against Morocco.
'They went into training and they robbed us, in the Olympic Games,' Mascherano said after his team's chaotic 2-1 defeat.
'We didn't want to say anything after training, I don't think it helps anything. But obviously, it's a bit disagreeable that these kinds of things happen.' Argentina's delegation filed a police complaint afterward.
Zico's near multi-million loss also comes in the aftermath of tourists traveling to the legendary sporting demonstration being reminded of taking taxis when making trips across France's capital.
More than 11.5 million tourists are expected to flock to Paris for the Olympics, according to figures from the city's tourism board, with taxi drivers and other travel providers expecting a huge summer of business.
