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Two tourists robbed on Paris highway in €5 million heist

The Local France/AFP
The Local France/AFP - [email protected]
Two tourists robbed on Paris highway in €5 million heist

Two sisters were fleeced of €5 million worth of jewellery during a highway robbery in Paris on Monday night, police have said.

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The women were travelling along the A1 motorway to the north of the capital when two masked men struck, police have said. 
 
The women were travelling in a Bentley vehicle from the Le Bourget airport and had stopped at a service station on the way into the capital. 
 
They were then tear gassed and robbed of €5 million worth of jewellery, luggage, and clothing. 
 
An investigation has been opened but the robbers are still on the run.
 
The chauffeur who was driving the car has reported the crime and the two victims are set to be questioned later today.
 
Paris special Brigade that investigates armed robberies has been put in charge of the probe.
 
The robbery comes after several high profile robberies in Paris, the most notable being that of US reality TV star Kim Kardashian who was fleeced of millions of euros worth of jewellery at her hotel last month.
 
 
The five biggest jewellery heists France has ever seen
 
There have been other high profile robberies on foreign visitors in recent months and years.
 
Only last week Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat was attacked as she returned home with her partner to their apartment in the 16th arrondissement. She too was tear gassed as thieves tried to snatch her handbag.
 
In August a Saudi princess told police she was attacked in central Paris and robbed of a €1 million ($1.1 million) watch.

And in September last year thieves snatched a €180,000 watch from the wrist of a Saudi prince outside the five-star hotel he was staying in near the Louvre museum in Paris.

The three-man gang had been loitering near the hotel looking for rich guests to prey upon.

Perhaps the most audacious robbery on a member of the Saudi royal family was in 2014 when gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs attacked his motorcade.

There have also been numerous robberies of Chinese tourists in and around the French capital as thieves know they often carry large bundles of cash on them.

On top of that there have also been numerous high profile and brazen armed robberies on jewellers in Paris wealthiest areas like Place Vendôme.

 

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