French Cops Bust 26 in Record Jewel Heist

(NEWSER) - Thieves stole a sketchbook containing 33 Pablo Picasso drawings from the Picasso Museum in Paris, the Daily Mail reports. The security system was somehow disabled and there was no sign of forced entry. The theft occurred sometime last night or early today and resembles the 2007 robbery of the home of one of Picasso’s granddaughters, when two paintings worth $55 million were taken. More»

Their loot isn't really all that valuable

(NEWSER) - Send in the clowns: Two gun-waving robbers dressed in clown makeup and wigs robbed a Denver jewelry story yesterday, roughing up employees and stripping display cases clean. They made off with the loot after a 15-minute robbery, notes CBS4, but there's a caveat: The precious stones aren't so precious. More»

Loot from Harry Winston heist recovered

(NEWSER) - Stolen gems worth $25 million have been found stashed in a rain sewer in a Paris suburb. Police say the gems—taken in a spectacular $100 million heist in 2008 —were hidden in a plastic container embedded in cement, the BBC reports. The home above the sewer belongs to one of nine people jailed for the armed raid on luxury jeweler Harry Winston's Paris boutique, AP reports. (Click to read about another heist-gone-wrong .) More»

Ax-wielding male thieves made off with cash, jewelry

(NEWSER) - British police are investigating three robberies in which men covered in burkas stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry. In separate incidents, the men burst into travel agency and jeweler shops, threatening employees with a knife, a gun, and even an ax, reports the Independent. The crimes took place in different cities northwest of London, but police believe that the same gang may be at work: "The pattern the offenders have followed is strikingly similar," said one investigator. More»

Authorities use DNA evidence to find Graff jewelry suspects

(NEWSER) - British police arrested a third man today suspected of participating in the biggest jewelry heist in British history, the Times of London reports. Police already have two men in custody, having captured at least one from DNA evidence left at the scene of the crime. Authorities have said that the robbery, in which $65 million of jewelry was taken from retailer Graff Diamonds, was well organized and likely involved multiple accomplices. More»