Two of the suspects are said to have been directly involved in the attack, the French “Le Parisien” reported on Saturday, citing legal sources.
According to a report in the newspaper “Le Parisien”, five suspects were arrested near Paris after the spectacular attack on a money transporter in Saarlouis, Saarland. Two of the suspects are said to have been directly involved in the robbery, the newspaper reported on Saturday, citing legal sources. According to this, they are members of organized crime in France who have already been convicted of similar crimes in the past.
“These are older bank robbers who have recognized know-how in this area,” the newspaper quoted a source close to the investigation as saying. Two other arrested are said to belong to the same team. The fifth perpetrator is said to have been on the edge of the incident. The arrests by special police forces were made on Friday evening in Epinay and Saint-Denis near the French capital.
The crime on Friday resulted in an exchange of fire and an explosion – the unknown blew up the van and also stole cash. According to the police, they then fled in high-powered cars towards the French border. The federal police and the French police took part in the large-scale manhunt for the fugitives. A picture of the devastation remained at the crime scene: the burned-out money transporter was parked across the street, several other cars were charred, shell casings lay on the asphalt.
As the newspaper “Le Républicain Lorrain” reported, a burnt-out car was found in Boulay, Lorraine, which could be the getaway car of the perpetrators. Boulay is on the Saarlouis-Metz road, not far from the access to the A4 motorway to Paris.
On Friday, the perpetrators rammed a money transporter and opened fire. There was an exchange of gunfire. After an explosion on the van, the perpetrators fled. The police assume that the perpetrators were waiting at an intersection in Saarlouis-Lisdorf for money to be transported. As it turned, a small car rammed into the van and stopped it. A shootout then ensued. According to “Bild” information, the perpetrators shot twice at the armored windscreen with a Kalashnikov. Almost at the same time, there was an explosion in the rear of the transporter. Both vehicles caught fire. Other vehicles in the immediate vicinity were damaged. The fire brigade has since extinguished the burning money transporter.
According to a police spokesman, such spectacular and dangerous robberies are a rarity – probably also because of the high risk. In July of last year, unknown persons attacked a money transporter in Cologne, shot at it and finally fled without having made any booty. There have been a number of robberies on money transporters in Berlin in recent years – in February 2021, criminals disguised as garbage collectors stole around 650,000 euros.
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