French police investigating the audacious Louvre Museum heist (which saw thieves make off with £76 million worth of royal jewels) have a major new update after two people were arrested.
The gang behind the daring break-in scaled the walls of the world-famous Paris museum using a furniture lift before cutting their way into a gallery and stealing the priceless treasures... all within just seven minutes.
Investigators suspect museum insider helped thieves
According to Paris police, digital forensic evidence suggests one of the museum’s own security guards was allegedly in contact with the thieves.
A source told The Telegraph: “We have found digital forensic evidence that shows there was cooperation with one of the museum’s security guards and the thieves. Sensitive information was passed on about the museum’s security, which is how they were aware of the breach.”
The thieves are said to have used chainsaws to enter through a window into the Galerie d’Apollon, where Napoleon-era jewels were displayed.
Thieves escaped on motorbikes with priceless artefacts
Once inside, the gang smashed display cases and seized nine pieces from the Napoleon and Empress Joséphine collection, including tiaras, necklaces, and brooches. One item (the crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III) was reportedly dropped and later recovered, though badly damaged.
Footage from the scene shows the burglars descending the Louvre’s facade via a cherry picker, with guards heard shouting in shock as the thieves fled on motorbikes through central Paris.
Former jewel thief Larry Lawton, who has carried out multimillion-pound heists, told The New York Times that the operation almost certainly involved insider knowledge.
“Let me tell you, they had an inside person,” he said. “That doesn’t even mean it was a guard. It could be a girlfriend who’s a tour guide, someone who knows where everything is.”
Louvre admits “security failure”
Museum director Laurence des Cars has since acknowledged that there were “failures” in the Louvre’s perimeter security.
“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed,” she admitted, The Sun details.
Des Cars said many of the museum’s cameras are outdated and do not fully cover the outer walls. The only camera overlooking the Apollo Gallery, where the jewels were stolen, was facing the wrong direction at the time of the break-in.
“We did not spot the arrival of the thieves early enough,” she said. “The weakness of our perimeter protection is known.”
What was stolen in the $101million heist
Police are still searching for the eight missing jewels taken during the raid, believed to include:
- Tiara and necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
- Emerald necklace and matching earrings from Empress Marie Louise
- Reliquary brooch
- Tiara and large corsage bow brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie
Fears loot will be sold on the black market
Experts fear the stolen jewels could already be broken apart and sold to wealthy collectors via the black market, meaning they may never be recovered.
Criminals often dismantle or melt down jewels to make them harder to trace. While that reduces their total value, it makes selling them far easier and less risky.
If the Louvre treasures have already reached a safe house, investigators say they may have been cut up or even sold in full to private buyers, disappearing into history forever.