Stolen Jewels Worth $25 Million Found In Sewer Drain Outside Paris
French police uncovered 19 rings and three sets of earrings valued at an estimated $25 million in a sewer pipe in Seine-Saint-Denis, just outside Paris.
As the Associated Press is reporting, many of the gems -- including a set of earrings valued at $19.5 million -- had been stolen from the luxury Harry Winston boutique in Paris as part of a spectacular 2008 raid. They were reportedly found in a plastic container set in a cement mold in a private home.
"They were found in a concrete block down a waste water drain," a police spokesman is quoted by the Telegraph as saying. "We broke the block open and the jewels tumbled out." He did not disclose whether any arrests were made in connection with the discovery on Monday.
Located on Avenue Montaigne, one of Paris' most prestigious districts, the Harry Winston shop was robbed by four armed men, two of them dressed as women, in mid-afternoon on Dec. 4, 2008 in just 15 minutes. As Forbes is reporting, the total value of the stolen goods was estimated at about $111 million at the time. Nine people were charged, including the alleged mastermind, who had already been sentenced to 15 years in prison in an unrelated drug trafficking case, a year later.
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First Posted: 03/10/11 10:16 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:35 PM ET