More than 20 luxury sports cars were stolen from a high-security car park in Paris, in a theft that lasted only a few minutes.
The car park on the Rue Ingenieur Robert Keller, only a few minutes drive from the Eiffel Tower, was targeted in the early hours on Sunday, with a police chase ensuing across the city overnight.
The gang-crime squad of the French police confirmed Porsches and Maseratis were among the cars stolen. Twelve suspects have been called in for questioning and could be held until Wednesday in line with policing laws for organised crime.
A Ferrari 458, which starts at £115,000 ($154,000) but can cost £1.2 million for rarer models, was also taken, daily newspaper Le Parisien reported.
Its owner, who was not named, said “extraordinary cars” had been stolen. Although his was insured and others likely were, too, he worried about how he would be compensated for the theft. He believed the thieves knew what exactly what kind of vehicles were available at the car park. “It’s clear they didn’t chose the place by chance,” he said.
Two of the cars were found within hours – including the more prosaic Renault Captur – using GPS technology, Le Parisien reported.
Axel Ronde, head of the police department of the Christian Workers’ Federation, a trade union, described the theft as “spectacular”. He wrote on his social media: "Never had such a large number of cars of this type been stolen.”
He said it was probable the cars had been driven out of the country, either across borders or on to a container ship. “Unless they want to take them apart first to sell the parts,” he said.
One witness told television channel TF1: “We thought they were guys from the car park coming out. Porches, 4x4 BMW. There was a parade of around 20 cars at least. Each one at the wheel of the car. Then two guys came out on bikes.”
The firm behind the car park's security, Sumer Vault, says the premises offers “numerous cameras recording 24/7”, a patrol every three hours and an “entirely secure and impenetrable” gate accessed only using biometric data.
Sumer Vault has been contacted for further comment.
