Eight jailed over record heist at Paris jewelry shop

A French court has sentenced eight men to jail over a record double heist at the Harry Winston store in the French capital, Paris.

On Friday, the Paris court sentenced the men to prison terms ranging from nine months to 15 years in prison over the robberies in 2007 and 2008.

The heaviest penalty was handed to the ringleader of the heist, Douadi Yahiaoui, a 50-year-old repeat offender.

"He was the brains of the team. He is the one who organized everything, recruited the robbers, gave instructions and was in charge of selling the jewelry," said prosecutor Sylvie Kachaner.

In the first heist in October 2007, four masked gunmen pretended to be builders while in the second robbery in December 2008 four thieves entered the same store, with three of them wearing women's clothing and wigs.

The court also convicted former Harry Winston security guard, Mouloud Djennad, who tipped off the thieves about the amount of the bounty inside.

The two heists are estimated to have netted over 100 million euros (USD 113 million) in luxury watches, necklaces, earrings and other valuables.

Police found some of the jewels but much of the loot has never been recovered.

AR/HMV/SS

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