Two Nice residents have appeared in front of Monaco’s Criminal Court charged with theft involving top-end Gucci clothing.

Originally from the Ivory Coast, the two culprits were able to obtain a refund of 5,795 euros for clothes bought in Milan by a third party, a Russian. The garments had been stolen from a car in front of the upmarket Hotel Negresco in Nice on the day before the incident in Monaco.

When the man returned on the following day to cash in a credit note, the Monte-Carlo outlet had been told about the theft in Nice and the police were called.

In court, the two claimed to have bought the clothing for the sum of 900 euros on the street in Nice from a person of North Africa appearance.

Their alibi was not believed by the court and the male defendant was sentenced to eight months in jail, while his partner in crime escaped with one month suspended, as called for by the prosecuting counsel.