Jewels snatched in daring raid on Ritz are recovered as police hunt suspects
POLICE in Paris have recovered some jewels stolen from the Ritz Hotel in a multimillion-euro robbery but were still searching for two thieves and the rest of the missing luxury merchandise.
The heist on Wednesday raised questions about security in one of the world’s most prestigious areas, the Place Vendome, whose well-guarded buildings include the Justice Mi n i s t r y , high-end boutiques and the 19th century Ritz.
Workers cleaned up shattered glass yesterday and started to repair damage from the robbery. Other wise, business appeared to be returning to normal at the Ritz, with no significant increase in security.
Three suspects entered the hotel through an unmarked side door, smashed display cases and threw bags of goods out of a window to at least two accomplices, according to a police official.
The three inside were blocked when they tried to flee through another door, and soon arrested, the official said.
The accomplices outside fled, one on a motorcycle and another in a car. The motorcyclist dropped a bag with jewels and hatchets when his motorcycle hit a pedestrian during his escape, the official said. The pedestrian was slightly injured.
Other jewels were found amid the debris of the shattered display cases during overnight clean-up efforts, the official added.
The overall value of the jewels on display was about 4.5 million euro (£3.9 million) and authorities were working with the jewellers to determine how many items were still missing and their value.
Another police official said some of the thieves had guns. Two people in the hotel hid from them and alerted police.
Patrons at the hotel’s renowned Hemingway bar described panic as the thieves entered the hushed environment of the Ritz, where rooms start at 1,000 euro (£885) a night.
Several high-end Paris jewellery stores have been raided in recent years, including Cartier, Harry Winston and Chopard.
Celebrity Kim Kardashian West said she lost jewejllery worth millions of dollars when she was robbed at gunpoint in a Paris flat in October 2016.
The Ritz has hosted such famous names as Coco Chanel. It was the last place Princess Diana stayed before her fatal car crash in Paris.