Thieves in France steal up to US$1.2 million in jewellery, police say
LILLE: Thieves in northern France stole jewellery worth up to US$1.2 million, police said on Saturday (Nov 15), after breaking into a boutique in the city of Roubaix earlier this week.
Police said the burglars broke into the central Roubaix shop on Wednesday and briefly held the jeweller and his wife hostage before escaping with valuables worth between 500,000 and one million euros (US$580,000 to US$1.2 million).
They have opened an investigation into kidnapping, organised crime and armed extortion.
SEPARATE POST OFFICE HEIST
In a separate incident on Wednesday, several individuals blew up a cash-transfer safe at Roubaix’s main post office and fled with a bag taken from inside.
Police later discovered the bag contained only empty bags. Six people were arrested that evening.
The incidents follow a major raid at the Louvre in Paris last month, when thieves stole jewellery worth an estimated US$102 million in broad daylight.
