French police are on the hunt for over a dozen heavily armed men who stole millions of dollars worth of jewels in a highway robbery south of Paris. 

Authorities said 15 hooded attackers raided two armored trucks carrying gems and art pieces worth €9 million (US$12.54 million) in a highway toll station connecting Paris and Lyon midnight of Tuesday.

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Police said the attack seemed to be well planned. The thieves onboard four vehicles intercepted the two vans, sprayed gas on the drivers and forced them out of the trucks. The drivers, fortunately, were unhurt.

"They are probably men who stem from organised crime and who are well informed," said a police source who refused to be identified for security reasons. "There were no shots fired and everything happened at lightning speed."

The armed men then drove the vans loaded with gems to Quenne, near Auxerre, just a few hundred meters from the toll booth. The vans were later found charred, its sides ripped open, with the gems already missing.

Helicopters have been searching the area Wednesday while forensic experts investigate the abandoned burnt lorries. The gang was believed to have fled in the direction of Paris. The van drivers were held  for questioning but were not charged.

The incident was the latest in the string of jewelry heists in France. The jewels were supposed to be brought to Besancon, near the Swiss border, to be sold. 

Last month, eight men were jailed for carrying out two of the world's biggest jewelry heists in 2007 and 2008. They pretended to be painters, then female shoppers, and stole luxury watches, necklaces and earrings worth more than €100 million from a Champs-Elysees store.

In 2013, an armed burglar had broken into the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, stealing 72 pieces of jewelry worth €103 million.

Tagsjewel heist, gems, Armed Robbery, Robbery, Paris