Armed robbers pulled off one of the world’s biggest jewelry heists at a famed Paris store, making off with 85 million euros (US$107 million) in diamonds and valuables, officials said on Friday.
A gang of four thieves — two of them disguised as women — on Thursday stole nearly all the jewels on display at the Harry Winston boutique just off the Champs-Elysees avenue, which attracts a wealthy international clientele.
The heist was well-planned, a source from the investigating team said. The men knew the names of some of the shop’s employees and the location of some hidden storage cases for jewelry.
The robbers managed to elude the high-security surveillance system and burst into the boutique at 5:30pm, at the height of the holiday shopping season.
Brandishing weapons, they threatened some of the dozen employees and customers and herded them into a corner, while some of the staff suffered blows, investigators said.
The US jeweler has reported losses to its insurer of 85 million euros, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, making it by far the biggest jewelry heist yet in France. Earlier estimates put the jewels’ value at 80 million euros.
Police said they were dealing with “major pros” who had meticulously planned their crime and knew the boutique’s lay-out well, suggesting it may have been an inside job.
The thieves, who apparently were French-speaking, stuffed brooches, rings, necklaces and other finery in bags and quickly left, without firing a shot. The whole operation lasted just 15 minutes.
No leads were ruled out including the possibility that the robbers may have connections in eastern Europe, where the loot could be sold, contrary to western Europe where such high-value stolen goods would be quickly detected. Police described the eastern European market as a “new El Dorado for traffickers” trying to get rid of high-end stolen goods.
Investigators were on Friday questioning customers, employees and pedestrians and studying surveillance camera tapes for clues, while Harry Winston’s head branch in New York said it was working closely with the French authorities.
“We are cooperating with the authorities in their investigation. Our first concern is the well-being of our employees,” the company said in a statement.
The Harry Winston store on Avenue Montaigne, which specializes in ultra-luxury jewelry, was hit by another heist in October last year when armed robbers stole an estimated 10 million euros worth of valuables.
An insurance company offered a US$500,000 reward for information leading to the thieves’ arrest but they were never found.
The Harry Winston jewelry chain has sold precious stones to royal families and lent them to film stars for events such as the Cannes film festival or the Oscars in Hollywood.
Belgium holds the record for the world’s biggest jewelry heist when diamonds worth 100 million euros or more were stolen on Feb. 14, 2003, in Antwerp.
A 1.8 million euro necklace was stolen in June 2001 from the Alexandre Reza shop in Cannes on the French Riviera, followed a month later by a 3.8 million euro heist at a Van Cleef and Arpels shop in the same city.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across