On Sunday, October 19 in Paris, France at around 9:30 a.m. local time four masked suspects arrived at the Louvre Museum, which holds the title for the most visited national art museum in the world that includes famous western artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The suspects came in a truck with an extended ladder at the Louvre’s Seine-facing side.
According to BBC they used, “a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’ Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine.”
A couple minutes after their arrival, two of the thieves climbed the ladder and used an angle grinder to get through the window of the Apollo Gallery while dressed as construction workers. They would use the same angle grinder to break into two display cases and steal eight pieces of jewelry that belonged to Emperor Napoleon and his wife. The items date back to 19th-century French royalty that include thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.
The thieves would begin their escape after the alarm was triggered and would retrace their steps down the ladder and leave on two motorbikes going towards the city of Lyon. However, during their escape they would drop the crown of Empress Eugenie that was recovered by police, though mildly damaged.
Law enforcement managed to obtain a video of the thieves exiting the Apollo Gallery that showed one suspect with a motorcycle helmet and the other wearing a construction worker vest with a balaclava covered face. They were also able to obtain multiple trace samples from the crime scene.
CNN states, “In just seven minutes, the thieves had made off with loot estimated at a value greater than $100 million…While suspects have been identified and investigations continue, the jewels are yet to be recovered.”
In October prosecutors filed charges towards three men and one woman for their involvement to the heist. The men were said to have ties to a team of four people that led the robbery.
On the 29th of October, five additional people were detained. Three out of the five people were released without charges; however, one man was described as a person of interest since his DNA was found at the scene of the crime according to ABC News.
On November 25 four more people were detained for their ties to the heist that included two men, ages 38 & 39, and two women, ages 31 & 40.
The robbery is still an ongoing investigation months later and questions remain, however its surely left its mark as one of the most significant heists to take place and law enforcement is continuing the search in order to recover the valuable jewelry stolen.