PARIS: French police arrested three people accused of tricking unsuspecting tourists into playing a rigged shell game at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, a police source said on Friday.

The two men and a woman, originally from Romania, were arrested in the northeastern Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis following a months-long investigation.

Police seized more than 16,000 euros (almost $17,000) in cash, three luxury cars, foreign currency and money transfer slips, the source said.

They suspect the three of deceiving tourists into betting on a shell game — where the victim tries to guess which cup hides a ball — with the promise of winning significant amounts of cash if successful.

Published in Dawn,May 7th, 2022