TOM Cruise’s luggage worth several thousand pounds was stolen after car thieves sped off in his bodyguard’s £ 100,000 BMW.
The Hollywood superstar, who shot scenes for Mission: Impossible 7 in the UK, was “hopping crazy” when he found out about the high-tech theft.
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Tom Cruise was stolen thousands of pounds worth of luggage after car thieves sped off in his bodyguard’s £ 100,000 BMW, pictured outside the Birmingham hotel where the engine was stolen
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Hollywood superstar Tom is shooting scenes for Mission: Impossible 7 in the UK
Crooks used a scanner to clone the keyless ignition key signal on the luxury car after it was parked outside a hotel in Birmingham.
And the ruse – worthy of the MI film series jam-packed with gadgets – enabled the gang to roar away in the car under the noses of the film icon’s elite security team.
A source told the Sun, “Tom was driving around Birmingham in the car and some of his luggage and belongings were in it when it was taken.
“It has since been recovered by the police because it was equipped with an electronic tracking device, but everything in it was gone.
“It’s a huge embarrassment for the security team and the guy who drove it was crazy – but not as angry as Tom!”
Tom, 59, had been spotted in a shopping mall in Birmingham in earlier scenes for the latest MI blockbuster starring actress Hayley Atwell, 39.
The bodyguard of the star’s security staff in the city is said to have disappeared the BMW X7 from its parking lot early on Wednesday.
Sources said the thieves were able to steal the black engine within minutes of intercepting the trailer signal after it was left in front of the Grand Hotel, just a two-minute walk from West Midlands Police headquarters.
The new car is said not to have been in a safe, barrier-free parking area recommended by the hotel, an eight-minute walk away.
The bodyguard had driven the Top Gun actor around for days in the powerful BMW sedan, which can shoot from 0 to 100 km / h in 4.7 seconds, while filming scenes in and around Birmingham.
Tom has been commuting by helicopter from a stunning Kent mansion where he lived during filming – and the car was always ready to pick him up.
High-tech thieves
Modern cars that use keyless entry and ignition keys are increasingly vulnerable to “relay thieves” who use wireless transmitters.
Thieves detect signals by tricking the target vehicle into sending a message to the keyless key fob.
An accomplice standing near the vehicle detects the signal and pretends that the car is within reach of the key so that it can be unlocked. Once the accomplice is in the car, the process can be repeated to start the engine and then an empty key fob can be programmed through the car’s computer port.
Alternatively, the thieves could have blocked the driver’s key fob by sending the same radio frequency that the car was locked on – leaving the vehicle unlocked and allowing access to its computer hardware.
Tom has shot in locations across the UK – and delighted diners by having a curry at Asha’s Indian Restaurant in Birmingham over the weekend.
The city’s train station was remodeled to represent Abu Dhabi Airport for filming – and Tom and his co-stars smiled and waved to fans between takes.
The screen idol who plays Ethan Hunt in the cash-making action spy film franchise was also on set when a train drove over the edge of a cliff at the former Darlton quarry in Derbyshire.
BMW reportedly delivered an identical replacement for Tom’s use within hours of the theft. Paramount Pictures, who are making the new MI blockbuster, declined to comment last night.
A police spokeswoman said: “We received a report in the early hours of Tuesday morning about a stolen BMW X7 from Church Street in Birmingham. The car was recovered a short time later in Smethwick. CCTV requests were made in the area where the car was recovered. The inquiries are ongoing. “
- Additional coverage by Liam Coleman
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Tom Cruise and actress Hayley Atwell are spotted shooting scenes for the new film Mission Impossible in BirminghamCredit: Splash
IDOL’S FURY ON UK SETS
THE car theft is the latest frustrating incident for Tom Cruise while filming Mission: Impossible in the UK.
Production was followed by a number of costly delays from Covid.
He lost his composure when he saw crew members break the rules of social distancing and shouted, “If I see you doing it again, you’ll be fucking gone.”
In May, the angry star had to call security to disperse a crowd of Gatecrasher who broke into his movie set in a Yorkshire quarry. He had previously scolded after branches were blown into the line of fire when he was filming a scene.
In 2017, the production of Mission: Impossible 6 was halted when the star, who performs almost all of his own stunts, broke her ankle jumping from one building to another in London.
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