Armed raid in Paris in which £6m worth of jewels stolen linked to notorious Pink Panthers
AN ARMED raid on a French motorway - in which £6million worth of jewels were stolen this morning - has been linked to the notorious 'Pink Panthers' gang.
Fifteen armed attackers held up two vans on a high-speed road before driving the vehicles away in the dramatic crime in French capital, Paris.
It has led to speculation that a gang of criminals from eastern Europe – dubbed the 'Pink Panthers' - were involved in the raid.
A judicial source involved in the investigation said: "The trucks were full of jewels and other valuable goods.
"They were driven away along with the four cars being used by the robbers".
The attackers, who wore balaclavas and brandished automatic weapons, held up the two vans after bringing them to a halt by stopping in front with their four cars.
They ejected the drivers from the vehicles before driving away from the scene of the crime on the Parisian highway.
An anonymous police official said no one was injured in the attack earlier today and the drivers of the jewellery vans were left at the scene unharmed.
Police helicopters and other units were scrambled to find the thieves after the dramatic raid around midnight.
However, by dawn, no trace of them was found.
The source added that the two vans were found burned in a forest near the site of the attack. The jewels were not found.
Prosecutors in Auxerre have launched a preliminary enquiry and have valued the stolen loads at "around €9million" (£6.3million).
Fifteen armed attackers carried out the dramatic crime on the high speed road in the country's capital Paris
The incident happened on the A6 highway which connects Paris and Lyon. It is believed much of the raid would have been caught on CCTV.
The police official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to be publicly named.
The two trucks were heavily guarded by armed security guards, but shots are not believed to have been fired.
The motorway is hugely popular with holidaymakers, and is used by hundreds of thousands of British drivers every year.
The crime has all the hallmarks of the Pink Panthers, who wear balaclavas or face masks, use Kalashnikovs and high-powered stolen cars.
They have been responsible for audacious heists all over France over the past two decades, and use the country's motorway system to make their escape.
They earned their name in 1993 after stealing a £500,000 diamond from a jewellers in London's Mayfair and hiding it in a jar of face cream.
It was a tactic that originally featured in the classic 1963 Pink Panther film staring British comedy icon Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.
The Pink Panthers are said to speak several languages and travel on genuine passports issued to other people, but with the photos changed.
Many are former soldiers from eastern Europe.
They have carried out more than 100 heists across the globe, including thefts in London, Dubai, Geneva, Monaco and Tokyo.
However, locations in France are often their main targets.
Last month a French court sentenced eight men to jail over a double heist at a jewellery shop in Paris.
They made off with more than £70million worth of gems and watches during the robberies in 2007 and 2008.
The jail terms ranged from nine months to 15 years. The longest sentence went to Douadi Yahiaoui, 50, considered the brains behind the double heist.
