Professional thieves decamp jewelries worth 12.5 Million

In scenes reminiscent from Ocean’s Eleven trilogy, a team of thieves stole jewels worth a couple of million euros from two high-security trucks which were cruising on a motorway south of Paris. Naturally the Police have issued a lookout notice and are on the alert.

Police reports indicate that the group consisted of at least 15 “"heavily armed and battle-hardened"” men who wore masks. They lay siege and attacked the two armored vans who were carrying jewels on an overnight trip. The incident happened on a highway that connects Paris & Lyon. The Police report mentions that the thieves got away with arts and gems worth at least 12.54 million (€9 million), before they vanished into the night. As per judicial sources the jewels were being transported to Besancon to be sold.

The gang of thieves approached the van carrying the jewels in four cars on the A6 highway which is located around 200km south-east of Paris. Cristophe Crepin, spokesperson for the Police said

Having encircled and surrounded the vans, the robbers forced the drivers to dismount the vehicle. They then went about emptying the van and transferred all of its contents into theirs. Having done so, they then set the vans on fire. What could be of significance is the fact that a toll booth was just a short distance away. No one was injured as well, which only goes to show that the thieves were professionals.
This is the latest in the string of jewel heists which have become a rather sore point for jewelers. It also raises the questions of how much more security measures need to be taken so that such incidents can be contained and avoided.

The way this operation was executed by the gang of thieves again goes to show that this was a professional hit. Minutely planned and brilliantly executed. The whole operation was to just steal the jewels and not draw attention to themselves by killing.

The police say:

As per television reports, in order to get the drivers out of their vans, a gas was used. Once they got control of the vehicle, they then drove to Quenne and arrived at a vineyard. They then went about using a mechanical digger which was conveniently parked there to rip a hole on the side of the vans. Having broken into the vans, extracting the loot was a child’s job.

Although the gassed out drivers of the jewelry vans have been taken into custody for questioning, charges haven’t been pressed, as yet.

The police have secured the perimeter of the crime scene and have deployed helicopters.
In the past France has suffered a series of jewel heists by thieves, who have increasingly used sophisticated tactics. The police though have kept up with them and have caught many such thieves in the past.

In 2007 and in 2008, the police hunted down eight men who tried to steal jewelries worth €100 million in broad daylight.

Reports say that: