Argentinian killers used Uber sign as cover to spot their targets

British man shot by gang looking for wealthy tourists entering country

Jamie Johnson and Emily Hart in Buenos Aires THE Argentinian crime gang that killed a British businessman held welcome signs in the airport arrivals hall as cover to spot wealthy tourists, officials say, after four men were arrested in connection with the murder.

Matthew Gibbard, a property magnate, and his family arrived at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires on Saturday morning, and were identified as potential robbery targets because of their “high-end watches”, according to a spokesman for Argentina’s ministry of justice and security.

CCTV shows that they were followed to their fivestar hotel across town, where Mr Gibbard, 50, and his stepson Stefan Zone, 28 were held up and then shot as they tried to fight off their attackers.

Mr Gibbard died shortly afterwards and Mr Zone remains in hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg.

One witness, who arrived in the aftermath of the shooting told a local news crew that he saw Mr Gibbard’s wife next to her husband screaming “stay with me, stay with me”. He added that “the son was also screaming in pain on the floor. It was very chaotic and disturbing.”

In a press conference yesterday Marcelo D’alessandro, the chief of security for Buenos Aires, said: “This gang works in the arrivals hall of the Ezeiza airport, where they look for tourists coming from Europe and the United States.

“From there they begin their pursuit. The modus operandi was to spot people at the airport wearing highend watches, follow them to their destination, and rob them.

“They had a kind of placard, they would pretend to work for Uber,” he added.

Mr Gibbard was a director at Tingdene, a retirement homes firm with a £20million turnover last year, according to Companies House. Mr Zone is understood to be a product manager at JP Morgan in London.

Yesterday, police raided 18 properties across Buenos Aires and arrested four men, including an Argentinian who is thought to be the gang leader.

They are still hunting at least six more people thought to be involved in the attack, including the gunman. It is understood that the chauffeur who drove the family to the hotel is not under suspicion. “We were able to identify the perpetrators and we are working to arrest them,” said Mr

‘This gang works in the arrivals hall ... Saturday’s wasn’t [their] first crime’

D’alessandro, adding that one of the suspects arrived on a flight from the Caribbean only last Monday.

“Saturday’s wasn’t the first crime they’ve committed,” he said, linking the group to an attack on a Canadian man outside the Intercontinental hotel last month.

On Thursday, before the attack on the Gibbards, an Argentinian was arrested for trying to steal a watch in a similar manner in the city’s Palermo area. Mr D’alessandro linked him to the same gang.

Alberto Fernández, the president, said: “We must be severe, we cannot tolerate this.”

Last night, the Foreign Office told The Daily Telegraph it kept all of its travel advice “under constant review”.