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Armed Attackers Pull Off Jewel Heist on French Highway

The high-security vans were carrying millions of euros worth of jewels.

ByABC News
March 11, 2015, 6:42 AM

— -- Two high-security vans carrying millions of euros worth of jewels were attacked by a dozen individuals at a highway toll near the town of Avallon, France, 125 miles southeast of Paris, the local prosecutor’s office confirmed to ABC News.

The heist happened around midnight local time, and no casualties have been reported, according to French media.

PHOTO: Burnt out vans are seen near the Avallon motorway exit, central France, on March 11, 2015.
Burnt out vans are seen near the Avallon motorway exit, central France, on March 11, 2015.

A spokesperson from the company running the tolls told ABC News that two trucks were found abandoned and burned on a plot of land nearby.

The individuals responsible were still on the run and an authority in Paris was tasked with the inquiry in conjunction with local officials.

PHOTO: A view of the A6 toll is seen on March 11, 2015 in Avallon, France.
A view of the A6 toll is seen on March 11, 2015 in Avallon, France.

French media reported the trucks were carrying $9.5 million worth of jewelry, adding the robbers moved the contents in getaway vans that they later abandoned in a field in Quenne, France, 20 miles north.

There have been series of recent heists in France, including three on the Champs Elysee in Paris last year.