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Qatari women robbed of €5 million in valuables after car held up on Paris motorway near Le Bourget Airport

Robbers spray victims with tear gas to steal jewellery, clothing and luggage

Lizzie Dearden
Tuesday 22 November 2016 11:02 GMT
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The car was ambushed as it drove along Paris' A1 motorway
The car was ambushed as it drove along Paris' A1 motorway (AFP/Getty)

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Two women from Qatar have been robbed of valuables worth at least €5m (£4.3m) after their car was held up on a motorway in Paris.

Police sources told the AFP news agency the sisters had just left Le Bourget Airport when their Bentley was stopped by two masked men, who sprayed them with tear gas and stole "everything in the vehicle", including jewellery, clothes and luggage.

Both victims are in their sixties, French broadcaster BFMTV reported, saying their driver was forced to stop at a service station on the A1 motorway.

The heist came weeks after American reality star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in the French capital. A spokesperson said she was tied up and locked in her bathroom while five robbers ransacked the hotel suite where she was staying last month, escaping with valuable jewellery.

Mallika Sherawat, a Bollywood actress, was also tear-gassed and beaten during another attack earlier this month.

Monday's robbery was not the first time cars have been targeted near Le Bourget. Last month, a taxi transporting the chief executive of a French company was held up after leaving the airport, with three robbers making off with an estimated €100,000 (£85,000) in valuables.

A Korean art collector was the target of a similar heist last year, with three attackers snatching €4m (£3.42m) in jewels from her car.

A convoy was transporting a Saudi prince there for a flight in August 2014 when it was ambushed, with thieves getting away with a quarter of a million euros in cash and "sensitive" diplomatic documents.

Le Bourget, which hosts the Paris Air Show, is not used by large commercial carriers and hosts only private flights, making it a frequent choice for international politicians and celebrities.

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