Police discover hideout for $100 million Louvre jewel heist – Le Parisien
Investigators probing last year's jewel heist from the Louvre Museum have traced the stolen gems to a garage in Aubervilliers, a suburb north of Paris, Le Parisien has reported. The gemstones, worth over $100 million, have not yet been recovered.
Four masked men armed with a chainsaw broke into the iconic Paris museum on October 19, using a crane to reach the second floor. Two of them forced their way into the Apollo Gallery, where they smashed a display case and fled with the jewelry pieces. Accomplices assisted with lookouts, getaway vehicles, and moving the loot.
According to surveillance footage cited by the newspaper, two suspects on scooters entered the underground garage of a private building on the same day. Video shows them examining the stolen items for several seconds before stashing them, though some of the jewels were already missing, according to the newspaper.
The suspects reportedly returned to the garage multiple times to retrieve scooters and other items. On the night of October 23, the men were seen covering their faces after noticing surveillance cameras and left in a white Citroen.
The historic haul included 8,482 diamonds, 35 emeralds, 34 sapphires, and 212 pearls, BFMTV reported in December. The gemstones were mounted in eight jewelry pieces that were part of a temporary exhibition and were on loan to the museum. Eight suspects have been arrested so far in connection with the robbery, with police continuing to investigate their roles in the theft.
Louvre Director Laurence des Cars told a Senate hearing in October that the crime was made possible by the museum’s outdated external surveillance system, describing it as a ‘weak point’ of the Louvre.
Home to the Mona Lisa, the Louvre has long faced scrutiny over security and modernization delays. A state audit had previously described its security systems as “old and inadequate,” and former museum director Pierre Rosenberg warned decades ago that the museum’s security was “fragile.”
