Tired of having the plant pots decorating the grave of her husband stolen, a widow placed a spy chip on one of them, and caught up with her plants on the premises of the Iranian opposition in exile.
The Resistance of Iran in exile in France counts among its supporters passionate flower kleptomaniacs? This was a strange case for the police at Auvers-sur-Oise on Monday reveals Le Parisien . It all started when a resident, exasperated at losing several pots of flowers she had placed on her husband’s grave, equipped one with a GPS tracker.
The bugged pot was soon to vanish as had a dozen of its predecessors. Except this time, the 59 year old widow followed the path of the plant on her computer. Imagine her surprise to find that the floating plant came to rest in the premises of the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran, aka MEK, MKO, PMOI), based in Auvers since 1980.
Accompanied by the police, the widow approached the NCRI. She recognized two hydrangeas, including the one under which she had pasted the chip. When asked, an NCRI member said he had been responsible for purchasing the plants in the morning at the supermarket … but he took back his words when shown the chip.
The widow refused the proposal of compensation which was offered and made a formal complaint instead. Besides the hydrangeas other plants were found that might have been stolen from other graves in the cemetery, where such disappearances have intensified over the past year despite the precautions taken by the municipality.
According to Le Parisien , the police interviewed a suspect on Tuesday. The spokesman of the NCRI has remained silent. In 34 years in Auvers, this is the first time a case like this has come to light. The NCRI has not explained the origin of the pots but says it recalls receiving many flowers as gifts from supporters.
Translated by Iran Interlink