Thieves armed with a chainsaw made off with over 8,000 gemstones in a rapid, carefully orchestrated heist at Paris’ most celebrated museum
The loot from the audacious daytime robbery at Paris’ Louvre Museum in October has been valued at approximately €88 million ($96 million), with robbers escaping with gemstones set in French crown jewels, BFMTV reported Monday, citing findings from an investigation.
Four masked men carrying a chainsaw broke into the iconic museum on October 19, forcing their way into the Apollo Gallery where they cut open a display case and fled with jewelry items. The heist lasted just minutes and was carried out without any injuries, according to the broadcaster.
The stolen items included 8,482 diamonds, 35 emeralds, 34 sapphires, and 212 pearls, BFMTV noted. These gemstones were mounted in eight jewelry pieces that formed part of a temporary exhibition and were on loan to the museum. Investigators believe the thieves targeted the items for the intrinsic value of the stones rather than the artistic worth of the jewelry itself.
Police state the operation was highly premeditated. Two suspects reportedly entered the gallery while two accomplices waited outside to aid in the escape. The group fled using scooters and left behind specialized equipment used to access the display. Investigators later found that vehicles linked to the getaway had been stolen and modified to avoid detection, BFMTV said.
Surveillance footage and other evidence examined by investigators enabled police to trace the suspects’ movements before and after the robbery. Authorities believe much of the planning and escape was coordinated from a suburb north of Paris, where multiple vehicles were observed departing and returning in a tightly timed sequence. A van thought to have transported the stolen jewelry has not been located.
Two suspects were later detained and partially confessed to their involvement, the outlet reported. One of the men, a 34-year-old Algerian national, told investigators he worked as a delivery driver. The second suspect also had a delivery job.
The Louvre – home to the Mona Lisa – has long faced criticism over security and delays in modernization. A state audit previously characterized its security systems as “old and inadequate,” and former museum director Pierre Rosenberg warned decades ago that the museum’s security was “fragile.”
The jewelry remains unrecovered, and investigators say it is unclear whether the gemstones were removed from their settings, sold, or hidden intact.