Qatari Sheikh linked to Beverly Hills street racing leaves the country days after driver was filmed claiming diplomatic immunity while proclaiming 'f**k America'
- Luxury supercars were filmed racing around the neighborhood Saturday
- Driver told police arriving shortly afterwards he had diplomatic immunity
- When confronted by a video journalist he allegedly said 'F*** America'
- He then warned 'he could have him killed' and 'flicked a cigarette at him'
- Investigator said Thursday Sheikh Khalid Hamad Al-Thani has left country
- He has sponsored a drag racing team and come to LA previous summers
- He owns the cars but it's unknown who was driving - the vehicles have also gone
A Qatari Sheikh investigators have connected to a Ferrari that sped through residential streets in Beverly Hills in a weekend incident caught on video, has left the country, police said on Thursday, and the cars are also gone.
Beverly Hills Police Chief Dominick Rivetti identified the man who owns the luxury sports cars as Sheikh Khalid Hamad Al-Thani.
The Thani dynasty rules Qatar, but Beverly Hills police declined to confirm if the man who left the country is part of Qatar's royal family.
In a video that sparked anger among residents and on social media, a $1.4million Ferrari and a Porsche owned by Al-Thani screeched their tires and revved their engines on Saturday as they zoomed along residential streets and blew past a stop sign.
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The two luxury supercars were filmed speeding up and down the residential streets on Saturday evening
The Ferrari's driver could be seen in the video pulling into a driveway with smoke rising from the engine.
The incident gained international attention when police said someone involved in the incident claimed diplomatic immunity.
The people currently living at the 8,895 sqft home in Beverly Hills, which rents for $45,000 a month, where the cars pulled up on Saturday, declined to speak to reporters.
Video journalist Jacob Rogers said that a man - thought to be the driver - confronted him when he captured the incident on video.
'He told me verbatim, 'I could have you killed and get away with it,' Rogers said.
'I told him, 'the press is allowed to be here on the sidewalk on a public street.' He said, 'F*** America' and threw a cigarette at me.'
Sheikh Khalid Hamad Al-Thani, seen here in file photos has likely left the country. He has spent millions funding drag racing teams
Al-Thani had been until recently staying at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, made famous in Pretty Woman, according to the LA Times, and a car enthusiast told the paper that the Qatari has been known to come to Los Angeles in the summers with his cars before.
Al Thani, who is in his late 20s, has previously spent $10million a year sponsoring the drag racing team Al-Anabi Racing and has been driving since he was 12, the paper added.
Police have said the cars in the video appeared to have been driven recklessly but that officers who arrived to find the Ferrari in the driveway could not make an arrest or issue a citation because they did not witness the incident.
Beverly Hills police spokesman Lieutenant Lincoln Hoshino said that while investigators had connected Sheikh Khalid Hamad Al-Thani to the Ferrari, it was unknown if he was the person who claimed diplomatic immunity or if he owned the luxury car.
Police say the Qatari linked to the racing has no right to claim immunity for the racing
The racing only came to an end when the multi-million dollar exotic vehicle's engine began smoking
Both cars then pulled onto the drive of a home on the 700 block of North Walden Drive on Saturday evening
Hoshino said police had not yet identified the drivers.
The drivers were unlikely to have had diplomatic immunity, police added.
'It's against a federal law for someone to claim diplomatic immunity when they don't have it, so we're looking at that and then we're also looking at the reckless driving,' Rivetti told reporters.
Hoshino said it appeared the Ferrari was not registered with the State Department to be brought into the country.
Beverly Hills Police said they may seek to prosecute those involved in the street race through the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
A spokesman for the Consulate of Qatar in Los Angeles did not return a call.
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