All of the jewels worth millions of Euros stolen from shops in Paris’s landmark Ritz hotel have been recovered, a source close to the case said Thursday.
Some of the loot was recovered on Wednesday after the arrest of three of the bungling thieves as they tried to flee the hotel and the rest was in a ‘bag seized yesterday by police,’ the source said.
Witnesses to the robbery at the iconic hotel in the French capital, which saw a gang of axe-wielding thugs ‘open fire’ and steal up to £3.5 million of jewellery, feared they had been caught up in a terror attack.
Five hooded men smashed through reinforced glass cabinets at the hotel, near the chic Place Vendome in the French capital, as terrified guests watched on at about 6.30pm last night.
Some reported thieves were dressed as builders, adding to speculation renovation work at the rear of the hotel contributed to a lack of security which allowed the heist to take place.
Masked attackers raided the Ritz Hotel in Paris at 6.30pm local time on Wednesday, smashing their way into the luxury hotel


The raiders broke their way into the exclusive hotel using axes and sledgehammers. Pictures show broken windows at the scene

Manhunt: Police in Paris are still searching for two armed robbers this morning following last night’s raid
The construction work was reported by Sky News, who said five men broke through a window at the hotel’s trademan’s entrance.
Hotel guests described ‘total panic’ breaking out and some reported hearing gunshots as the men raided display cases in the hotel’s Reza jewellery shop.
Shoppers alerted police who descended on the scene and used Tasers as they arrested three of the robbers before they could flee. But two gang members were able to escape with the massive haul.
One left the scene on a moped, hitting and injuring a woman as he sped off, while the second drove off in a Renault Mégane along nearby Rue Saint-Honoré, according to local media.
The hotel is located beside the French Justice Ministry which is guarded by armed soldiers around the clock.
Shots were heard as at least five raiders rushed into the five-star ‘palace’ brandishing weapons, as frightened staff and guests were told to lie on the floor.
‘The attackers then used axes to smash open reinforced glass cases containing jewellery, while filling bags,’ said a source at the world famous hotel.
‘As they tried to get away, police officers arrived, and three of the robbers were pulled to the ground and then arrested.
‘Two others got out the back door of the hotel, and were seen running away, and then getting on mopeds.’
It was at around 6.30pm that guests drinking in the Hemingway Bar, at the back of the hotel, first heard the commotion.
‘Bar staff told everybody to remain calm, and not to do anything stupid. Some clients were ushered down into the basement for safety. Shots from what sounded like a handgun were heard at one point.
‘There were initial fears that a terrorist attack was going on, but it soon became clear that it was a robbery. Two others got out the back door of the hotel, and were seen running away, and then getting on mopeds.’
The three arrested men were all aged about 40, according to Le Parisien, which reported that they were known to police.

The raid took place at the Ritz hotel in Paris at 6.30pm local time on Wednesday and involved five raiders, two of whom escaped

Witnesses described ‘total panic’ breaking out and some reported hearing gunshots as the men raided the display cases in the hotel’s Reza jewellery shop

One sped off on a moped, hitting and injuring a woman as he sped off, while the second drove off in a Renault Mégane along nearby Rue Saint-Honoré, according to local media

One woman who was in the hotel at the time of the attack went on Twitter to reassure her friends that she was unharmed
Police sources estimated the value of the robbers’ haul as being worth ‘at least’ the equivalent of £4million.
The glass containers were all in a corridor leading towards the Hemingway bar.
Security at the Ritz was reinforced in 2014 after a series of daylight robberies on jewellery shops in the Place Vendome.
The hotel is next door to France’s Justice Ministry, where soldiers stand guard 24 hours a day.
The Ritz, which re-opened in 2016 after a four-year refurbishment, is owned by the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Paris is notorious for high-end armed robberies, with many taking place around five-star palace hotels such as the Ritz.
A police source said: ‘World-famous jewellers display their jewellery at the Ritz.’

Police swarmed the area surrounding the hotel following last night’s dramatic raid which targeted the Ritz hotel in Paris

Two of the gang were spotted escaping from the scene. Police in Paris have launched a major investigation and are continuing their manhunt this morning
Interior minister Gerard Collomb praised officers’ ‘professionalism’ saying they had ‘done our police force credit’.
One hotel employee told AFP: ‘We heard a loud noise and lots of racket in the street. Passers-by took refuge in the hotel. We didn’t know what was going on until someone told us there had been a robbery.’
Another employee said he saw a motorbike speed along a road at the back of the hotel after the break-in.
Place Vendome, with its opulent window displays, has been the scene of several audacious daytime raids.
In March 2016, two robbers stole an estimated £4.5million worth of jewels from luxury fashion brand Chopard after threatening employees with a gun and grenade. Three men were charged in connection with that heist.
The French capital’s most high-profile recent jewellery theft was carried out in October 2016 against US reality television star Kim Kardashian.
Five men, some wearing jackets with police insignia, held Kardashian at gunpoint, making off with several pieces of gold and diamond jewellery as well as a ring – a total estimated worth of nine million euros.
One of the robbers, fleeing the scene on a bicycle, dropped a diamond-encrusted cross worth £25,000 which was found by a passer-by a few hours later.
More jewels and watches were found in a bag dropped by one of the two suspects still at large, the source added, without being able to give an estimate for the value of the goods retrieved.
The Ritz was founded by Swiss hotelier César Ritz in 1898 and has been a focus of high society ever since.
Diana, Princess of Wales, dined in the hotel’s Imperial Suite shortly before her death in a car crash in August 1997.
Its retail gallery boasts several jewellers’ as well as designer goods shops.
A superior room costs from £885 a night, while a ‘grand deluxe’ room starts at £1,240.
The Paris prefecture launched an immediate investigation.
Among those caught up in the drama at the Ritz was the celebrated French writer Frederic Beigbeder, 52.
The author, who wrote the prize-winning Windows on the World, was enjoying a drink in the Hemingway Bar when he heard shots.
He was one of those who took refuge in the basement of the hotel, emerging when the gunfire had stopped.
The bar is named after the American writer Ernest Hemingway, who used to drink there with friends including Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald and the actor Gary Cooper.
Hemingway famously ‘liberated’ the bar after arriving in Paris on a tank at the end of the German Occupation in 1944.


Three members of the gang were captured inside the hotel, pictured, but two robbers were able to escape with their haul

Police quickly arrived at the scene and arrested three of the raiders before starting a search for the two who escaped

The raiders smashed their way into glass cases containing the jewels and tried to fill bags with the stolen merchandise

Security at the hotel had been increased in recent years following a string of high-profile raids targeting jewels in Paris