Jewel thieves behind bars for robberies

A FRENCH court has given three jewel thieves prison sentences of up to 15 years for two robberies in Paris.

In the first raid in 2013, criminals made off with millions of euros worth of jewellery from a De Beers outlet.

But a robbery more than a year later from a Cartier store went awry and ended in a gunfight with police.

At a Paris court on Friday, Dominique Vilaca, involved in both crimes, was jailed for 15 years, as was Ismaila Fofana, 26, who took part in the 2014 heist.

His cousin Youssouf Fofana, 25, was jailed for seven years for the De Beers robbery.