Gunmen attack Saudi prince’s motorcade in Paris, rob 250,000 euros

Police confirmed there were no injuries during the theft, in which the car was stolen and later found burned.

PARIS // Robbers armed with Kalashnikovs escaped with 250,000 euros in cash and may have stolen sensitive documents after they attacked a Saudi prince’s motorcade in Paris.

The spectacular robbery took place in the north of the city late on Sunday as the motorcade was making its way from a plush hotel on the Champs Elysees to Le Bourget airport. Police said no one was injured.

A gang of “between five and eight” thieves in two BMWs hijacked the first of about 10 vehicles in the convoy, and drove off with the three occupants before letting them go.

The Saudis’ Mercedes and one of the thieves’ BMWs were later found abandoned and burnt out in the village of Saint-Mesmes, to the northeast of Paris, about 40 kilometres from the scene of the crime.

Police found two 500 euro notes, documents in Arabic and medication near the burnt-out wrecks of the two cars.

According to the local daily Le Parisien, the robbers made off with “sensitive” diplomatic documents.

A source close to the investigation said: “For the moment, we have no details about the nature of these documents. They could be sensitive documents but they could equally well be unimportant.”

“It’s quite an unusual attack. They were obviously well-informed. It’s true that it’s quite a rare way of operating,” one police source said.

Police have made no arrests.

The head of a national police union, Nicolas Comte, said: “We need to find out what they were looking for, the money or the documents.

“I hope we will also have efficient cooperation with the Saudi authorities.”

The investigation has been turned over to the BRB special police unit in charge of armed robberies.

Another police source said: “If they were looking for sensitive documents, that changes the nature of the crime.

“It will no longer be an armed robbery, but something more complicated.”

Initial results of the investigation have revealed that the robbers were obviously “aware of what they would find by attacking that specific car and not the others”, he said.

Frederic Lagache, from the Alliance police union, said: “We’re dealing with a heavily armed and determined group of criminals.

“Once again, unfortunately, we see that these individuals had no fear of the police and were not concerned about the consequences of their actions.”

* Agence France-Presse