Europe 1 with AFP 2:22 p.m., March 16, 2024

A post office in Evry-Courcouronnes (Essonne) was targeted by an armed robbery on Friday morning, with the attackers stealing up to 150,000 euros in cash.

The criminals gained access to two ATMs, taking care to neutralize the camera installed on each of them.

One of the distributors, full, contained 77,000 euros. 

A post office in Evry-Courcouronnes (Essonne) was targeted on Friday morning by an armed robbery, the attackers stealing up to 150,000 euros in cash, AFP learned on Saturday from a police source, confirming information from the site News17.

Two young men armed with handguns entered the agency around 9:15 a.m., first threatening the two employees on site then an arriving cleaning lady, according to the same source.

One of the employees was punched in the face during the burglary.

The criminals gained access to two ATMs, taking care to neutralize the camera installed on each of them.

One of the distributors, full, contained 77,000 euros.

The amount of the second is currently being evaluated.

The robbers, who covered the dispensers with fire extinguisher powder, also stole rolls of coins.

A third accomplice?

The mobile phones of the two kidnapped employees were confiscated during the robbery and then returned after being cleaned with hydroalcoholic gel to erase the fingerprints.

The video surveillance recorder disks were also stolen.

The two attackers then fled without the employees being able to determine where they were going.

The employees, who overheard a telephone conversation, estimated that a third accomplice could be waiting in a vehicle outside.

The investigations were entrusted to the IT Service of the Judicial Police and the Versailles Banditry Repression Brigade.

Contacted by AFP, the Evry public prosecutor's office could not immediately be reached.