2 Qatari women robbed on Paris motorway in $7.5 million heist

PARIS (AFP) - Two Qatari women were held up with their driver on a Paris motorway and robbed of valuables worth "at least five million euros (S$7.55 million)", police sources said on Tuesday (Nov 22).

The women, who are in their sixties, had just left Le Bourget airport north-east of the capital on Monday (Nov 21) when their Bentley was held up by two masked men, who sprayed them with tear-gas and stole "everything in the vehicle: jewels, clothes, luggage", one source said.

The portion of motorway leading north from Paris to the Charles de Gaulle and Le Bourget airports is often the scene of hold-ups targeting wealthy foreigners in luxury cars, some of whom carry large amounts of cash.

The robbers often take advantage of traffic jams to pounce.

Last month, a taxi transporting the CEO of a French furniture chain among other passengers was held up after leaving Le Bourget.

The three robbers made off with an estimated 100,000 euros in valuables.

A Korean art collector was the target of a similar heist last year, with three attackers snatching four million euros in jewels from her car.

Within Paris itself, a number of high-profile robberies have led the government to step up security around tourist spots.

In October, American reality TV star Kim Kardashian was tied up and robbed at gunpoint of US$10 million (S$14.24 million) in jewels in a luxury apartment in the heart of the city.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.