In just seven minutes, the thieves, with the help of a ladder truck, are said to have managed to break in and disappear with "priceless" jewelry and items from the Louvre in Paris on Saturday morning, according to France's interior minister. According to Le Parisien, they got away with a necklace, a brooch, a tiara and other items that belonged to Napoleon and his empress.
Christopher Marinello, an Italian-American lawyer who has worked for over 30 years to track down and recover stolen goods from museums and other institutions around the world, including Sweden, is "very surprised" that the thieves succeeded.
Smaller museums often targeted
This usually happens at smaller museums, we've seen it in everything from Sweden to the UK, France and Egypt, but then at smaller places, often in rural areas. Very rarely do we have thefts at large museums, so it's quite shocking, says Marinello to TT.
The perpetrators, three in number, were equipped with chainsaws and are said to have broken in on the side of the Louvre facing the Seine River, where construction work is underway.
It's possible that the thieves took advantage of the construction work and possibly a security breach in the area, but it's a bit too early to speculate about, says Marinello.
Must it be a professional gang behind this?
There are gangs all over Europe that target smaller museums, and they're getting bolder and now taking on the Louvre. And that's a huge development.
Melt down
The first thing the thieves will want to do, if they get away, is to try to cover up their crime, says Marinello.
And then you want to take apart the jewelry, melt down the precious metals and remove the diamonds so that they can sell them. It's a race against time and hopefully the police have enough to go on.
He says that thefts of gold and jewelry are increasing around the world.
Thieves feel that they can act with complete impunity, says Marinello, who believes that one should take a more serious view of this type of crime.
I think you might want to start considering these crimes as terrorism against culture, against our cultural heritage. Because they're not just stealing from the Louvre, they're stealing from all of us, all of us who want to study and appreciate these items.
