An art collector today claimed she was robbed of more than £4million worth of jewellery during a designer handbag snatch in a notorious motorway tunnel in Paris . The German woman , who has not been named , was in a taxi which was stuck in traffic shortly after arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday afternoon . Three thieves are said to have ‘ appeared from nowhere ’ and smashed a rear window of the car , making off with the bag . The heist took place in the Landy Tunnel ( pictured ) , which is just under a mile long and notorious for smash-and-grabs . It included numerous valuable items including a single ring worth close to £1million , as well as around 12 other valuable pieces . Today the victim told police that all of the items , which also included watches , bracelets , and rings were worth well over £4million . The ‘ extremely rich ’ German , who is part Taiwanese , was on her way to loan some of the jewels to the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris , according to sources close to the case . But , in a mysterious twist , the museum later denied knowing anything about the intended delivery . Detectives were today trying to work out whether the thieves had inside knowledge , or had simply ‘ got lucky ’ , said an investigating source . The German woman , who has not been named , was in a taxi which was stuck in traffic shortly after arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport ( pictured ) Rather than escaping on a motorbike – which is usual – the thieves in this case ran away on foot , scrambling up a sharp motorway embankment . The items are all listed and numbered because of their high value – something which will make them very hard to sell on . The heist took place in the Landy Tunnel , which is just under a mile long and notorious for smash-and-grabs . Youths living in local housing estates often follow passengers on mopeds , and then attack the cars they are travelling in . In February 2010 , Christina Chernovetska , the daughter of the then mayor of Kiev , lost some £4million worth of jewels in similar circumstances .
'Extremely rich ' German woman 's taxi was stuck in traffic as thieves struck . They smashed rear window of vehicle before running away with handbag . The victim says Three of the stolen rings was worth close to £1million alThree . Claimed she was on her way to loan some of the items to museum in Paris .