Louvre robbery: see the stolen jewels
See what was stolen during the robbery at Paris’ famous Louvre Museum.
Hours after robbers launched a brazen heist at the Louvre in Paris, another French museum has been looted.
Authorities said a group of robbers stole 2,000 silver and gold coins worth more than $100,000 from the House of Enlightenment Maison des Lumières on Sunday night, October 19th.
When the facility opened the next morning, security guards encountered a broken display case and realized the coins had been stolen, French media reported.
Local officials said the attackers broke into the Hotel du Breuil de Saint-Germain, which houses a small museum, and made off with historic coins after breaking into the building.
The Langres department said in an official statement that the robbery was carried out with “great expertise and precision”, suggesting it was a targeted operation. No arrests have been made and authorities have not named the suspect.
The heist was largely overshadowed by a brazen theft hours earlier in which $102 million worth of jewelry was stolen from the Louvre. It is unclear whether the two robberies are related.
Masked thief attacks Louvre Museum in broad daylight
Shortly after the Louvre opened on October 19, robbers disguised as construction workers climbed a ladder and entered the Apollo Museum through a window. Once inside, they destroyed display cases and stole eight of France’s crown jewels as alarms sounded and panicked tourists fled the building.
Officials said the four suspects fled on motorcycles and are still on the run. All in all, the robbery took place within 10 minutes.
Items stolen included an emerald necklace belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte’s family and a sapphire tiara that once belonged to 19th-century French queens Marie Amélie and Hortense.
The attack shocked the nation and raised questions about how one of the world’s most famous museums could be robbed in broad daylight.
This also follows a series of thefts targeting other cultural institutions in France.
In August, six gold bars worth $1.75 million were stolen from the Paris Museum of Natural History. French prosecutors say they have arrested a Chinese-born woman who was trying to dispose of melted gold in Barcelona.
Contributed by: N’dea Yancey-Bragg And Thao Nguyen
