Swiss cash truck heist suspects arrested in France

Remnant of the money transport vehicle that was robbed and then set on fire. Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Five people have been arrested in France accused of robbing a Swiss cash truck carrying cash and valuables worth around CHF20 million ($21.8 million) in 2019. 

After several months of investigation, French and Swiss police apprehended the five French nationals in Lyon and Annemasse, near Geneva, according to a statement released by Vaud cantonal police on Tuesday. Operations are still underway in France and Switzerland, the statement added. 

The suspects – aged 31 to 42 years – are accused of having participated in the spectacular robbery of a Swiss Post van at Daillens, north of Lausanne, on December 2, 2019. At around 7.40pm, the vehicle was stopped by two vehicles and the couriers were forced out at gunpoint. The perpetrators managed to open the doors of the van using explosives and seized the cargo. They then set fire to three vehicles before fleeing the scene. No one was injured during the attack. 

The thieves fled with money, watches, gold bars and precious stones worth a total of CHF20 million, Jean-Christophe Sauterel, spokesman for the Vaud cantonal police, told the Keystone-SDA news agency. 

The attack was one in a series of night-time robberies of cash delivery vehicles in canton Vaud in western Switzerland. There have been 11 such attacks since 2006, several of which have been violent, with the assailants shooting at and beating up the van drivers in some cases.