Hotel Security, Police Intercept Burglary of Ritz Hotel in Paris

Hotel Security, Police Intercept Burglary of Ritz Hotel in Paris

An organized burglary of Paris' Ritz Hotel was disrupted by hotel security measures and the police on Wednesday night.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Jan 12, 2018

At attempt to steal millions of euros worth of gems and jewelry from the Ritz Hotel in Paris was disrupted on Wednesday night by hotel security and police.

The robbery, which was audacious in nature given the five-star hotel's close proximity to France's Ministry of Justice, began when a gang of thieves with axes burst into the hotel's lobby through the back entrance and went straight for the jewelry cases on the ground floor.

The robbers were able to steal at least $4.8 million euros worth of jewels inside the hotel, but hotel security triggered an alarm that trapped three of the five men inside the shop.

Police entered the hotel from the back and fired at the trapped suspects with "Taser-type guns" before arresting them. The three suspects were in their twenties, according to police.

The remaining two remaining men escaped with the jewels, French police said. Authorities could not confirm if they got away with everything that they attempted to steal. Police said at least one man appeared to be waiting for them at an exit and that he and another suspect escaped on a scooter via rue Cambon. The scooter hit a passerby, who was not hospitalized.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb praised the police response. "Armed robbery at the Ritz: Three suspects already arrested by officers from the 2nd arrondissement. Their calm, their professionalism and their swift response is a credit to the Police," he posted on Twitter.

The Ritz Hotel is situated in the Place Vendome in Paris, the site of several popular city landmarks, including the Louvre an dthe Jardin des Tuileries. The hotel has an on-site shopping gallery of five-high end boutiques near the back entrance, right next to the Bar Hemingway. The gallery also features 95 showcases, located from the front lobby all the way back to the gallery, displaying luxury goods.

This is the second major jewel heist in a major European city in a week. Last week, thieves made a daytime heist of valuable gems and jewelry from the Qatari royal collection at an exhibition in Venice, Italy.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    Perimeter Security Standards for Multi-Site Businesses

    When you run or own a business that has multiple locations, it is important to set clear perimeter security standards. By doing this, it allows you to assess and mitigate any potential threats or risks at each site or location efficiently and effectively. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

  • OpenAI's GPT-4 Is Capable of Autonomously Exploiting Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

    According to a new study from four computer scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, OpenAI’s paid chatbot, GPT-4, is capable of autonomously exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities without any human assistance. Read Now

  • Getting in Someone’s Face

    There was a time, not so long ago, when the tradeshow industry must have thought COVID-19 might wipe out face-to-face meetings. It sure seemed that way about three years ago. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3