Thief snatches bag worth $230,000

A thief snatched a woman's handbag containing $230,000 from a hotel lobby in the US.

Owner Ari Tamas had the gems in the bag to wear to a family wedding. She turned her back for only seconds but the bag disappeared.

Police are looking for the suspect after the theft at the hotel in Aventura, Florida. The gems are worth $230,000.

Ms Tamas, 63, put the bag down next to her sister on a sofa in the lobby of the hotel when she stopped for a moment in the hotel's lobby.

"I left the bag on the couch. I was two steps away,'' Ms Tamas said. "My sister was sitting right next to it.''

While she spoke to a hotel employee behind the counter, a man sat down on the couch, draped a jacket and briefcase over the handbag - and walked off unnoticed.

"When he left the couch, the bag left with him,'' said Aventura police spokesman Lt. Skip Washa.

The stolen items include a jewel-studded necklace, earrings and bracelet, as well as Tamas' airline tickets and $4,000.

Ms Tamas was sickened by the theft but vowed it wouldn't spoil the wedding.

"The world is full of disgusting thieves,'' she said. "But this is a happy affair, and I don't want to take away from that.''