Harry Winston robbed in worlds biggest jewelery heist ever
December 5th, 2008 by Shawn
Four armed robbers pulled off one of the world’s biggest jewelery heists at famed Paris Jeweler Harry Winston, making off with diamonds and valuables worth $108 million dollars, investigators said Friday.The robbery took place Thursday and the men stole nearly all the jewelery on display.
The heist was well-planned, a source from the investigating team told the press. The men knew the names of some of the shop’s employees and the location of some hidden storage cases for jewels.
Two of the men were disguised as women when they managed to elude the high-security surveillance system and burst into the boutique at 5:30 pm on Thursday during the busy holiday shopping season.
Brandishing weapons, they threatened some of the dozen employees and customers and herded them into a corner, while some of the personnel suffered blows, according to investigators.
Police said they were dealing with “major pros” who had meticulously planned their crime and knew the boutique’s lay-out well, suggesting it may have been an inside job.
The thieves, who apparently were French, stuffed rings, necklaces and other finery in bags and quickly left, without firing a single shot.
No leads were ruled out including the possibility that the robbers may have connections in eastern Europe, where the loot could be sold, contrary to western Europe where such high-value stolen goods would be quickly detected.
Police described the eastern European market as a “new El Ddorado for traffickers” trying to get rid of high-end stolen goods.
Police on Friday were questioning customers, employees and pedestrians to try to come up with leads.
Harry Winston, which specializes in ultra-luxury jewelery, was hit by another heist in October last year when armed robbers stole an estimated 20 million worth of valuables.
An insurance company offered a 500,000-dollar reward for information leading to the thieves’ arrest but they were never found.
The US jewelry chain has stores across the world and has sold precious stones to royal families and lent them to film stars for events such as the Cannes film festival or the Oscars in Hollywood.