Masked men burst into Château La Durantie and held up the owners at gunpoint
A soldier, simply named as Derek by French prosecutors, was remanded in custody last week in connection with a robbery that took place at Château La Durantie just over a year ago.
The former SAS soldier was seized on suspicion of robbing the château in the Dordogne. Also, he will be questioned over allegations that he was growing cannabis at his French home.
The 57-year-old man was arrested after a hair from a Jack Russell terrier was found at the scene, prompting gendarmes to investigate British expatriates in France known to own that breed of dog. Their suspicions fell on Derek, who was a member of the SAS for three years.
Two masked men had broken into the château on November 15, 2016, and held up Ralph and Victoria Heinig, the Anglo-German owners, at gunpoint. The couple were at home with friends, whose children were asleep upstairs.
The robbers spoke flawless English and addressed the owners by name, leading detectives to the conclusion that they had inside information and were British. They forced Mr Heinig to open the safe.
Police said the robbers were acting with the assurance that the safe contained a lot of money, but there was only about £5,000 in cash and a Cartier watch worth an estimated £20,000. Mrs Heinig recalled that one of the thieves was particularly calm and collected, while the other was nervous.
Said Mrs Heinig, “He hit me over the head with the butt of his gun so that I didn’t move.”
At the end of the operation, the robbers tied up the owners before leaving on foot. Police believe their car was parked in the countryside near by. The gates of the château had been left open that evening so that the Heinigs could enter the grounds. Detectives suspect that the robbers had been told that the château would easily be accessible. Derek was placed under surveillance before being taken from his house in the village of Charmé in western France, where gendarmes said they discovered 130 cannabis plants along with cocaine, cannabis resin and Ecstasy pills.
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