Louvre robbery committed by petty criminals from disadvantaged areas of Paris
3 November 06:20
The attack on the Louvre was carried out by petty criminals from disadvantaged areas of Paris, not professional robbers. This was stated by the city’s prosecutor, Laure Becco, according to The Guardian, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the prosecutor, the detainees had previously been convicted of only minor thefts. Their actions do not correspond to the methods of organized crime, as evidenced by numerous mistakes during the robbery.
“It’s not exactly conventional criminal activity… but it’s the kind of criminal activity that we don’t usually associate with the higher echelons of organized crime,” said Becco.
The robbers’ unprofessionalism is confirmed by the fact that during their escape they lost the most valuable jewelry – the crown of Empress Eugenia, made of gold and precious stones. The criminals also left tools with possible traces of DNA at the scene.
Louvre robbery
On the morning of October 19, the Louvre in Paris was robbed. Nine jewels from the Napoleon collection were stolen.
According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, the thieves entered the building from the facade overlooking the Seine River, where construction work is currently underway. They used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery.
Two robbers, while a third stood guard, smashed the display cases in the Napoleon and French Sovereigns galleries, stealing nine items from the imperial family’s jewelry collection. Among them are a tiara worn by Queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense; an emerald necklace of Empress Marie-Louise; a tiara once owned by Empress Eugenie, etc. The latter, according to the investigation, is decorated with almost two thousand diamonds.
Investigators managed to find one of the stolen items, the crown of Empress Eugenia, as the thieves dropped it during their escape. The whereabouts of the rest of the items are unknown. The amount of damage is currently estimated at 88 million euros.
