Paris Ritz hotel heist: Stolen jewels recovered in bag 'dropped by robber' but two gang members still at loose

Armed heist at the Ritz: three men were arrested at the scene
EPA
Tom Powell11 January 2018

Two thieves are still on the run after a multi-million Euro jewel heist at Paris' Ritz hotel went dramatically wrong, French police said.

All of the stolen jewels have now been recovered by police after they found a bag seemingly dropped by one of the robbers as they fled on Wednesday evening.

But the incident has raised serious questions about security in one of the world's most prestigious neighbourhoods, the Place Vendome.

Three perpetrators "entered by the service entrance, smashed the jewellery stands and grabbed jewels that were clearly expensive with the help of axes," said Jean-Michel Huguet of police union Alliance Police Nationale.

Police presence: officers stand at the rear entrance of the Ritz after the robbery
AFP/Getty Images

They seized watches from display cases holding wares from Rolex and Piaget, and then targeted the Alexandre Reza jewellery boutique inside the hotel.

The suspects inside threw bags of goods out of a window to at least two accomplices outside, according to a police official.

The three inside were then blocked when they tried to flee through another door, and quickly 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 pedestrian was slightly injured, said the official.

'Gunshots heard': police arrested three of the robbers but two others escaped
EPA

Other jewels were found scattered amid the debris of the shattered display cases during overnight clean-up efforts. The overall value of the jewels on display was estimated at about 4.5 million euros (£3.9 million).

An official close to the investigation said on Thursday night that all the stolen jewels have been recovered, after authorities and jewellers carefully examined the contents of the bag and debris.

Another police official said some of the thieves apparently had guns. Two people inside the hotel hid from the thieves and alerted police, the official said.

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 euros (£888) a night.

Workers cleaned up shattered glass on Thursday and started to repair damage from the robbery. Otherwise business appeared to be returning to normal at the Ritz, with no significant increase in security.

Several high-end Paris jewellery shops have been targets of dramatic robberies in recent years, including Cartier, Harry Winston and Chopard.

Kim Kardashian West said she lost millions of dollars' worth of jewellery when she was robbed at gunpoint in a Paris apartment in October 2016.

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