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Motorway thieves steal French jewels | Motorway thieves steal French jewels |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Armed thieves have seized a reported €9m (£6m; $9.5m) euros' worth of jewels from two armoured lorries at a French motorway toll booth. | |
As many as 15 hooded attackers seized the vehicles at about midnight on Tuesday on the A6 motorway at Avallon, 220km (140 miles) south-east of Paris. | |
The drivers were said to be unhurt and the lorries were later found abandoned some distance away. | |
The gang is reported to have fled in the direction of Paris. | |
The thieves were said to have waited for the security vehicles at the Avallon toll booth south-east of Auxerre, spraying gas at the drivers when they arrived. | |
Local reports said the lorries had been carrying a consignment of diamonds, other jewels and works of art between Paris and the eastern city of Besancon. | |
Police hunt | |
The burnt-out lorries were being investigated on Wednesday by forensic scientists in a field near Quenne, further north along the A6, just outside Auxerre. | |
Police have been searching Yonne and neighbouring regions for the attackers. | Police have been searching Yonne and neighbouring regions for the attackers. |
There have been a number of high-profile jewellery heists in France in recent years, most notably the theft of more than 92m euros ($100m, £65m) during two separate raids on a Harry Winston store in Paris. | |
Eight men were jailed earlier this year over the double heist. The first theft occurred in 2007, when four men pretending to be builders gained access to the building. | |
A year later, a gang of thieves again gained access, this time wearing women's clothing and wigs. They stole almost every jewel on display in the store. | |
In July 2013 about 103m euros ($136m; £89m) of gems were stolen during a dramatic armed raid at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes. | |
The gunman seized diamond encrusted watches, necklaces and earrings from an exhibition. | |
Earlier that year the Cannes film festival was rocked by two separate robberies, including the theft of a necklace worth 1.9m euros (£1.6m). |