Posted on 12/05/2008 10:00:52 AM PST by AngieGal
Armed robbers pulled off one of the world's biggest jewellery heists at a famed Paris store, making off with 80 million euros (102 million dollars) in diamonds and valuables, investigators said Friday.
A gang of four thieves -- two of them disguised as women -- on Thursday stole nearly all the jewels on display at the Harry Winston boutique just off the Champs-Elysees avenue, which attracts a wealthy international clientele.
The heist was well-planned, a source from the investigating team told AFP. The men knew the names of some of the shop's employees and the location of some hidden storage cases for jewellery.
The robbers managed to elude the high-security surveillance system and burst into the boutique at 5:30 pm (1630 GMT), at the height of the holiday shopping season.
Brandishing weapons, they threatened some of the dozen employees and customers and herded them into a corner, while some of the staff suffered blows, according to investigators.
The loot initially estimated at up 62 million euros was revised early Friday to 80 million euros, making it by far the biggest jewellery heist yet in France.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Right out of a movie...
This is a piddling amount compared to the grand scale theft going on in this country right now.
It definitely was an inside job. No ifs and buts about it.
Soon to be CongressCritters.
Congressman Frank and Sen. Dodds, where were you on the afternoon in question?
Seems like it. But, I'm impressed at the scope of the robbery. These guys must be real pros to pull this off.
Professional thieves like this are a dying breed.
“This is a piddling amount compared to the grand scale theft going on in this country right now.”
Correct!!! And it is not even an “inside job.” It is a “free for all.”
They had to work to hard to get that money. They should have just called up Ben Bernanke. He could have printed more than twice that much for them.
I suspect that Fannie Mae was an inside job.
Has anyone seen Winona Ryder in the past couple of days?
Maybe she’ll get a job on Hillary’s staff “re-decorating” the White House. Hillary forgot to grab a few things when she moved out.
Something makes me want to cheer for these guys.
A former employee?
“This is a piddling amount compared to the grand scale theft going on in this country right now.”
If they just hang on to those jewels for a couple of months they’ll be worth $200 million dollars. :)
You might enjoy this story that just happened here in Panama (although not exactly a 100 million-dollar heist):
Crooks Use Homemade RPG to Assault Brinks Armored Car
Thursday, December 04 2008 @ 04:41 PM EST
Contributed by: Don Winner
By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com –
What will they think of next? Innovative Panamanian thieves used a homemade Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher in an attempt to rob more than $2 million dollars from a Brinks armored car in the Juan Díaz area of Panama City.
The criminals used two vehicles to block the road on via José Agustín Arango near the entrance to the San Cristóbal neighborhood in Juan Díaz, forcing the armored car to stop. They then brandished the homemade RPG and an AK-47 to force the Brinks security guards to surrender.
The assailants handcuffed the security guards and forced them into the back of the armored car, but the guards had apparently managed to alert the authorities and the police responded to the scene.
Police units engaged the assailants in a high-speed chase, which included the crooks tossing wads of cash out of the armored car in an attempt to disrupt the persecution. Officers managed to arrest one of the criminals, recover most of the stolen money, and free the Brinks security guards who had been taken hostage.
High Speed Chase Ends: The chase went as far as the Hipódromo Presidente Remón horse track, where police officers recovered the stolen armored car and freed the two Brinks security guards who were handcuffed and being held in the back of the truck.
The quick police response forced the assailants to abandon 74 bags of cash containing more than $2 million dollars, which they left in the back of the armored car. In their attempts to escape, the assailants ran through a commercial area of Campo Lindbergh in Juan Díaz.
Perimeter Established: Police established a security perimeter in an attempt to capture all of those involved. This action on the part of the police caused the criminals to abandon their cars, weapons, and most of the cash in order to be able to flee the area. Police officers recovered the homemade RPG in an empty lot near the Concepción bus station - it had been made to look like an actual PRG-7 and was used during the robbery.
One Arrested: As the police closed in they captured “Edwin Mole” Badillo who had run into a dead-end street in the Santa Clara neighborhood of Juan Díaz. As he was being arrested Badillo offered the police officers $10,000 in cash if they would allow him to escape.
In the same area police officers recovered a .38 caliber revolver and $9,600 in cash that apparently came from a second security bag that had been taken from the armored car. Badillo had been released from prison nine months ago after having served a term for his involvement in a bank robbery in the province of Coclé.
Cars Recovered: Police also recovered two vehicles that were used in the robbery, a white Mitsubishi Lancer (163724) and a green Mitsubishi Nativa (266416) which was abandoned in the Concepción bus stop in Juan Díaz. The Nativa had been stolen over the weekend.
Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.
“This is a piddling amount compared to the grand scale theft going on in this country right now.”
Yep, the diamond thieves are amateurs by comparison.
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