Suspects Arrested over $2.4m Gem Raid in Paris
August 05, 21
(IDEX Online) - French police have arrested two men after a $2.4m heist at Chaumet, the iconic Paris jeweler.
A raider posing as a smartly-dressed customer threatened staff he would detonate a bomb at the store (pictured), near the Champs-Elysées.
He forced them to hand over jewelery, loose gems and keys, which he used to lock them in before fleeing, on 27 July. Police say no violence was used and nobody was hurt.
Officers detained two men the following day in Moselle, near the French border with Germany, and recovered a "substantial" part of the loot.
The same store was targeted in 2009 when precious stones worth $2.25m were stolen.
Chaumet, founded in 1780, has branches worldwide and was bought by the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH in 2012.