New reports claim that investigators working on the £76million jewel heist at the world ’s most visited gallery say crooks may have been talking with a security guard
The brazen operation that saw a headline-grabbing, broad daylight heist unfold at the iconic Louvre museum in central Paris may have been thanks to more than just careful planning and good luck.
New reports claim that investigators working on the high-profile theft at the world ’s most visited gallery believe that it may have been an inside job. It comes amid today’s announcement that two suspects have been arrested.
Historic crown jewels worth £76million were swiped in the daring seven-minute operation, which saw thugs with chainsaws scaling the side of the building and opening a window to gain access.
However new evidence has emerged, according to an unnamed police source, which appears to indicate a member from the museum’s security team was in touch with the robbers.
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“We have found digital forensic evidence that shows there was cooperation with one of the museum’s security guards and the thieves,” the source told the Telegraph.
“Sensitive information was passed on about the museum’s security, which is how they were aware of the breach.”
The raiders used a furniture lift to access the first floor and break into the beautiful Galerie d’Apollon, which was full of visitors at the time, where the jewels were kept in cases.
Two arrests have been made of suspects in the Louvre Museum robbery this morning, with one grabbed at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France while attempting to board flight to Algeria.
The crooks were able to swipe nine priceless pieces from the Napoleon and Empress Joséphine collection but they dropped one as they made their escape.
They made their escape down the cherry picker with their loot before mounting motorbikes and speeding off through the central Paris streets.
The director of the Louvre offered to resign last week after admitting the raid was a “terrible failure” with a key camera in the gallery incorrectly positioned.
The theft has sparked national outrage as experts have warned that chances of recovering the valuables snatched from the French capital are already all-but vanished.
Laurence des Cars told a committee of the French Senate that a camera monitoring the area where the suspects broke in was pointing in completely the wrong direction.
“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed,” she said. “We are experiencing a terrible failure at the Louvre, which I take my share of responsibility in. We did not detect the thieves’ arrival early enough. The warnings I had been sounding came horribly true last Sunday – we did not detect the thieves’ arrival early enough.”
French culture minister Rachida Dati has told the National Assembly that an administrative inquiry had been launched alongside the police investigation to ensure full transparency, but offered no explanation on how the thieves pulled off the raid. “The Louvre museum’s security apparatus did not fail, that is a fact,” he stressed on Tuesday. “The Louvre museum’s security apparatus worked.”