Bulgari hit by 10 million euro jewel heist in Paris

A group of thieves struck the Bulgari store in Paris's Place Vendome on Tuesday, making off with around 10 million euros ($12 million) in jewellery after leading police on a high-speed chase that saw two of the suspects captured, sources told AFP.

The attack on the luxury store in the heart of the French capital occurred around noon, and officers arrived at the scene shortly after, a police source said.

The suspects fled in a grey BMW and on two scooters, with one arrested after he was shot in the leg by police.

The BMW was later abandoned, and another suspect was found hiding in a car park at the bustling Les Halles shopping centre, close to the Louvre museum as well as Notre-Dame cathedral.

"Quick reaction by Paris police after a jewellery store robbery at Place Vendome. Two suspects in custody," the Paris police said on Twitter.

A source close to the inquiry said the thieves grabbed jewels worth 10 million euros from Bulgari, the famed Italian jeweller that is part of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.

It was the latest of several jewellery heists in Paris over the summer.

On July 27, a man stole two million euros' worth of jewels from a Chaumet boutique before escaping on an electric scooter. He was arrested the next day with an accomplice, and most of the items were recovered.

Three days later two men armed with an electric shock gun and tear gas targeted a Dinh Van store, seizing around 400,000 euros of loot.

© 2021 AFP