Five Eastern Europeans were in custody in Paris today following a million-pound jewellery raid by up to 15 men brandishing axes.
French police believe a highly organised Roma gypsy gang was behind the heist at the Vacheron Constantin store near Place Vendome on Friday.
It saw two well-dressed men enter the store before opening the doors open for a crowd of hooded accomplices.
They smashed display cabinets and left with around 20 watches worth up to one million pounds.
Meanwhile, accomplices used smoke grenades to create confusion during the raid, which happened in broad daylight shortly before 12 noon.
A 24-year-old Romanian and a Moldavian, aged 17, were arrested shortly afterwards, while three more Eastern Europeans were taken into custody on Saturday.
None were carrying identity papers, but police are working with police in Romania to try and identify them.
Investigating officer Francis Vincenti said the arrested men had fled the scene ‘on foot’, and that the raid ‘demonstrates a new kind of procedure.’
He said it was unusual for such a large gang to be working together, using force of numbers to terrify staff.
Other officers suggested the gang would have received even more assistance from Paris’s growing Roma community.
Thousands are living in squalor around the city as they get involved in all kinds of crime, ranging from armed robbery to aggressive begging.
Complaints about unhygienic camps and rising crime and anti-social behaviour have soared, with extra police struggling to deal with them all.
‘Their crimes usually involve as many people as are needed,’ said one officer. ‘Look-outs often include young children. There are so many working together that they can be impossible to control.’
Many believe such scenes will be replicated in Britain in 2014 when EU labour laws are relaxed for Romanians and Bulgarians, so allowing thousands to arrive in Britain to find work.
France has been hit by a number of high-profile jewellery heists this year, and eastern European gangs are believed to be behind most of them.
A robbery during the Cannes Film Festival, on the Riviera, saw robbers make off with a diamond necklace valued at 1.3 million pounds.
Early last month, four men rammed a 4x4 car into another jewellery store close to Place Vendome in Paris, making off with almost two million pounds worth of luxury watches.
Anger at such robberies caused a huge show of support for a French jeweller who shot dead a teenage robber in Nice, also on the Riviera, last month.
Stephan Turk faces murder charges after shooting the young robber in the back as he made his getaway on a scooter.
