Four men strip Le Locle’s watchmaking museum in five minutes

After a series of raids that in recent months had mainly targeted French institutions, this time a Swiss museum was hit. The Musée d’horlogerie in Le Locle, in the canton of Neuchâtel, was robbed on Sunday morning.

Four men got in shortly after 6.15am by forcing the entrance on the north side of the building. Once inside they reached two exhibition rooms and broke the glass domes protecting the pieces on display. The haul consists of fewer than a dozen objects, mostly watches and pendulum clocks.

According to the police the perpetrators wore hoods and gloves and stayed in the building for less than five minutes. They then fled in a large sedan heading towards France. The value of what was taken is still being assessed.

The investigation was opened immediately. The authorities alerted the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security and the French authorities, who are working on the case together.

The museum is housed in the Château des Monts, above Le Locle. It stayed closed on Sunday to allow forensic work and the restoration of the rooms. Reopening, officials say, is expected in the coming days.