Armed robbers seize jewels worth €4 mn from Paris Ritz
PARIS:Armed robbers launched a spectacular raid on the world-famous Ritz hotel in Paris on Wednesday, making off with an estimated €4 million worth of jewels, the latest in a string of high-profile heists in the city.
The gang of five men armed with hatchets smashed display windows on the ground floor of the hotel in Paris’ luxurious Place Vendome around 6.30pm (local time), making off with the jewels.
Three of the gang were detained while fleeing the scene and an AFP journalist said some roads around the hotel were sealed off by security forces.
“We heard a loud noise and lots of racket in the street,” a hotel employee told AFP. “Passers-by took refuge in the hotel. We didn’t know what was going on until someone told us there had been a robbery.”
Police recovered some of the jewels as officers hunt for two thieves who remain on the run.
“A part of the loot was recovered scattered about during the arrest of three of the suspected robbers,” a police source said, referring to the men detained.
More jewels and watches were found in a bag dropped by one of the two suspects still at large, the source added, without being able to give an estimate for the value of the goods retrieved.
Interior minister Gerard Collomb praised officers’ “professionalism”, saying they had “done our police force credit”.
Paris prosecutors have opened a probe into the robbery, according to a judicial source.