Masked thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewels from the Louvre museum

PARIS — A brazen theft on the Louvre Museum in Paris Sunday morning has left investigators trying to find a number of males who made off with what officers describe as “priceless” jewels.

A spokesperson for the museum informed NPR the suspects entered shortly after the museum opened, breaking in by way of a window that led to the Apollo Gallery, which homes a number of the museum’s most precious treasures. Armed with small chainsaws and field cutters, they smashed show instances earlier than fleeing on Yamaha TMax scooters towards a close-by freeway.

Authorities say the precise listing of stolen gadgets remains to be being drawn up, however the items are believed to return from the museum’s Napoleonic assortment.

Tradition Minister Rachida Dati informed the French TV channel TF1 that one of many stolen jewels was later discovered close to the museum, apparently deserted because the thieves fled.

The Louvre spokesperson described the gadgets as being of “inestimable cultural and historical value.”

France’s Inside Minister, Laurent Nuñez, known as the theft “a major, highly organized operation” that lasted simply seven minutes. “There’s a judicial investigation underway,” Nuñez informed France Inter radio, including the lacking gadgets have been “of true heritage value – truly priceless.”

Nuñez mentioned the robbers used a elevate platform mounted on a truck to achieve a window earlier than breaking in. He mentioned there have been three to 4 suspects in whole, describing them as “a very experienced team that acted extremely quickly,” and including that each one central police items in Paris have been mobilized to trace them down.

The museum was rapidly evacuated and can stay closed Sunday to protect proof for investigators.

The Apollo Gallery, one of many Louvre’s most iconic areas, homes a lot of France’s royal jewels and reopened in 2020 following main renovations.