A dramatic heist of two truckloads of champagne, valued at €600,000 (£525,000), was thwarted by French police in a high-speed chase. The incident unfolded near Reims, at the heart of the

Champagne region, where the stolen lorries were reported on Saturday. Equipped with tracking devices, officers located the vehicles and engaged in a pursuit on the A4 motorway between Reims and Paris.

The stolen lorries, belonging to a Reims-based company, contained consignments of Moët & Chandon, a prestigious champagne brand, with each load valued at €300,000. Although the champagne was successfully recovered, the thieves managed to evade capture. The lorries were tracked on the A4 near Pontault-Combault, approximately 20km (12 miles) from central Paris.

During the chase, the thieves attempted to shake off the police by making abrupt maneuvers. When officers forced one lorry to slow down, the driver leaped off and was picked up by a following saloon car, speeding away. The second lorry took the next exit and was later found abandoned without the driver. An ongoing investigation is in progress. Fortunately, all champagne bottles were retrieved intact, albeit a bit shaken. Photo by Arnaud 25, Wikimedia commons.