Yahoo – AFP,
Cyril Touaux, 18 Aug 2014
 |
| Kalashnikov-wielding robbers have attacked the motorcade of a Saudi prince in Paris, making off with 250,000 euros in cash and reportedly stealing "sensitive" documents, French police say (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour) |
Paris (AFP)
- Heavily armed robbers have attacked the motorcade of a Saudi prince in Paris,
making off with 250,000 euros ($335,000) in cash and reportedly stealing
"sensitive" documents, French police said Monday.
The
spectacular robbery took place in northern Paris late on Sunday as the
motorcade was making its way from a plush hotel on the Champs Elysees to an
airport in Le Bourget, said police, who confirmed there were no injuries.
A gang of
"between five and eight" thieves in two BMWs hijacked the first of
around 10 vehicles in the convoy, driving off with the three occupants before
letting them go, police said.
A police
source and Le Parisien daily had said the men were armed with Kalashnikov
rifles but an official later clarified to say they were carrying hand guns.
The Saudis'
Mercedes and one of the thieves' BMWs were later found abandoned and burned out
in the village of Saint-Mesmes, to the northeast of Paris, approximately 40
kilometres (25 miles) from the scene of the crime.
Police
found two 500 euro notes, documents in Arabic and medication near the burnt-out
wrecks of the two cars.
According
to Le Parisien, the robbers made off with "sensitive" diplomatic
documents.
A source
close to the investigation confirmed the theft of diplomatic documents but told
AFP: "For the moment, we have no details about the nature of these
documents. They could be sensitive documents but they could equally well be
unimportant."
The Saudi
embassy in Paris could not be immediately reached for comment.
Romain
Nadal, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry said only: "An
investigation is under way into this unacceptable attack."
"It's
quite an unusual attack. They were obviously well-informed. It's true that it's
quite a rare way of operating," one police source told AFP.
No suspects
have yet been apprehended.
The head of
a national police union, Nicolas Comte, said: "We need to find out what
they were looking for, the money or the documents."
"I
hope we will also have efficient cooperation with the Saudi authorities,"
he added.
The
investigation has been turned over to the BRB special police unit in charge of
armed robberies.
One source
close to the investigation, who did not wish to be named, said: "If they
were looking for sensitive documents, that changes the nature of the
crime."
"It
will no longer be an armed robbery, but something more complicated," the
source added.
Initial
results of the investigation have revealed that the robbers were obviously
"aware of what they would find by attacking that specific car and not the
others," he added.
Frederic
Lagache, from the Alliance police union, said: "We're dealing with a
heavily armed and determined group of criminals."
"Once
again, unfortunately, we see that these individuals had no fear of the police
and were not concerned about the consequences of their actions."
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