On Sunday, Oct 19th a group of thieves broke into the world’s most visited museum–The Louvre–and stole eight priceless jewels from the Apollo Gallery.

Only 30 minutes after the museum had first opened it’s door, the thieves had used a truck mounted ladder, to climb onto the balcony. They then used an angle grinder to force open the window breaking into the Apollo Gallery. They took under 5 minutes to break into the cases, where they stole 9 jewels, before climbing down the ladder and riding away on Yamaha scooters. 

According to CNN the police found a number of items such as the angle grinders, a blowtorch, and some walkie-talkies. However they also found the Crown of Empress Eugenie, which is believed to have been dropped during their escape, causing it some damage according to prosecutors, (Palumo Oct 23rd). 

Despite the movie–like absurdity, according to experts this was not an amateur heist. They seemed to know exactly where the jewels were, and which window to break in from.  A member from the French Senate has reported to CNN she believes this to be done by organized crime, (Palumo Oct 23rd). 

France’s government has been cracking down on the case, having over 100 investigators aiding in police searches, (Cerullo Oct 21st). However they are also questioning the museum’s director, asking how this was allowed to happen, in broad daylight.

The director spoke up for the first time on Wednesday, admitting to faults in the security system. Saying that “Much of the security systems were outdated,” (Breeden Oct 22nd). They went on to explain that the only cameras on the exterior of the thieves entry point were facing away from them. Allowing them to park their truck, prop up their ladder, and break into the Louvre. According to the NYC Times the security system only went off after they broke in. (Breeden Oct 22nd).

This ridiculous heist has left France embarrassed and enraged. Senators demanding answers, and some even demanding the director steps down. Yan Chantrel has bluntly stated “I think the whole world is laughing at us,” (Breeden Oct 22nd).

Many are disappointed, an art crime historian even saying she believes the gems have already been broken down, (Palumo Oct 23rd). When the museum reopened tourists were disappointed about the Apollo Gallery now being closed. 

Recently however, the police have managed to catch two of the suspect in their attempt to flee. According to ABC the first suspect was arrested Saturday at 10pm, at an airport attempting to fly to Algeria. The second was attempting to travel to Mali. (Brennan Oct 26th).

According to the French police both suspects have dual citizen ships one for France and Algeria, the other for France and Mali. To add on, police had dealt with both of them before in past robbery cases. Their names have not been released to the public yet.

Investigators, used DNA found on the crime scene, specifically on a helmet. This discovery lead to the discovery of one of the suspects. Investigators are still trying to determine if there was help from the inside, and unfortunately there is no update on where the jewels are.