Robbers Used Axes To Steal $5 Million Of Jewelry From The Ritz Paris Hotel - Newsweek
In a real-life version of Ocean's Eleven, axe-wielding robbers heisted more than $5 million worth of jewelry from a store the Ritz Paris hotel on Wednesday.
Unlike the action movie, three of the five thieves were quickly caught and arrested by police the same day. The two other thieves got away on a motorized scooter and are still on the run. There were no injuries, according to Reuters.
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“The loss is very high and remains to be assessed,” one police source told Reuters. Another source said the costs of the loot was around 4.5 million Euros, or $5.38 million, but added that a recovered bag could have some of the goods.
The hotel has a gallery shopping area near the back entrance, which contains five permanent shops and 95 “showcases” selling luxury jewelry, watches and clothing, according to the BBC. The Ritz was the former home of legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel and a favorite drinking spot for American writer Ernest Hemingway.
Paris police commissioner tweeted a statement thanking the officers for their quick reactions. Interior Minister Gérard Collomb also thanked the officers, saying the capture of the three men was “a credit to our police,” the BBC reported.
"We heard a loud noise and lots of racket in the street," one hotel employee told the AFP news agency. "Passers-by took refuge in the hotel. We didn't know what was going on until someone told us there had been a robbery."
Armed heists targeting jewelry stores are actually fairly common in the area in which the luxurious five-star hotel is located: in Place Vendôme, historical first district, right on the bank of the river Seine and next door to the ministry of justices. According to CNN, this was the second big jewel robbery in a major European city in a week.
Just a few days ago, on January 3, thieves stole jewels at an exhibition in Venice, Italy, that were of "indisputably elevated value,” CNN reported.
