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Gunmen Carjacked Saudi Prince's Motorcade for $335,000 and 'Sensitive' Documents

The heavily armed Paris assailants dramatically made off with cash, embassy papers, and one of the convoy's vehicles.
Photo via AP/Remy de la Mauviniere

The convoy of a Saudi Arabian prince was robbed in Paris Sunday night by up to eight gunmen, according to French police. At least €250,000 ($335,000) and some "sensitive" embassy documents were stolen, but there were no reported deaths or injuries.

The motorcade was en route from the luxury George V Hotel to Le Bourget Airport when it was dramatically intercepted at Porte de la Chapelle in the north of the city, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

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The group of approximately 10 vehicles was reportedly attacked by heavily armed gunmen in two separate vehicles. Though witnesses and a police source originally told reporters that the men were wielding Kalashnikov rifles, a police official has since told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the men were only carrying handguns.

The driver of the motorcade's first vehicle, a Mercedes minivan, was held at gunpoint. The group of men then escaped with this vehicle and three occupants inside, who were later released. The burned remains of the Mercedes and one of the gunmen's BMWs were reportedly later found in Saint-Mesmes, 25 miles northeast of where the incident occurred.

No arrests have yet been made, and it's still unclear whether the carjackers were after the cash or the sensitive embassy documents.

"It's quite an unusual attack. They were obviously well-informed. It's true that it's quite a rare way of operating," a police source told AFP.

The Saudi Embassy has declined to comment on the incident.

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Follow Jordan Larson on Twitter: @jalarsonist