[MSN] Stolen watch haul found in France

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Stolen watch haul found in France

A highly valuable collection of Swiss watches has been recovered in France shortly after being stolen from a museum in Switzerland, officials said.

The timepieces belonging to luxury watchmaker Girard-Perregaux were found in a sack in scrubland in eastern France, near the Swiss border.

Two men were arrested on Friday over the theft and a third is being sought.

Reports said police delayed making announcements in the case as they hunted for the third man.

The robbers snatched the watches after smashing display cases at the museum in the north-western Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds last Thursday.

The items, some of which are from the 18th Century, are said to be worth millions of Swiss francs.

Experts said they would have been hard to sell on the open market, as they were catalogued.

The missing watches were discovered on Saturday but the announcement was only made on Monday. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk