Video shows one of the suspected Louvre robbers brazenly cutting through a glass case using a mini chainsaw before making off with the loot during Sunday’s heist at the Paris art gallery, French media has reported.
The short clip shows the thief, wearing a yellow reflective jacket over a black hoodie, casually cutting through the protective case, French outlet BFMTV reported.
CCTV footage shows one of the Louvre thieves cutting into a glass case with a mini chainsaw. X/BFMTV
Investigators found a power saw at the scene. Poitout Florian/ABACA/ShutterstockThe video does not show the robber leaving the gallery.
A total of nine precious items from France’s Crown Jewels were taken during Sunday’s daring raid, with one of them, a crown that once belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie, being later recovered, French magistrate Laure Beccuau told Le Parisien.
“We have CCTV footage from the museum itself,” she said, adding that the suspected thieves were highly “prepared” and “organized.”
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Among the priceless jewels stolen is a large bodice bow that belonged to the Empress Eugenie, made up of 2,634 diamonds, which was bought by the museum in 2008 for $10.5 million.
Among the swiped items was the crown of Empress Eugénie de Montijo. AFP via Getty Images
Forensic team members inspect a broken window at the Louvre after the robbery Sunday. REUTERSBefore being bought at auction, the item was in private hands in the US.
So far, no details have been given about the identities of the robbers, who allegedly drove an aerial work platform up to the side of the world-famous art gallery before using miniature chainsaws to access the building through the window.
Here's what was stolen in the brazen Louvre heist
- A diamond and sapphire tiara, sapphire earrings, and a sapphire necklace belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie, the last queen of France, and Queen Hortense.
- An emerald necklace and earrings belonging to Marie-Louise, Napoleon Boneparte’s second wife.
- A tiara belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.
- The bodice knot of Empress Eugenie.
Possible DNA traces have been identified in the museum and are currently being analyzed by special police units, Beccau said.
It took the gang of four less than 10 minutes to enter the building at 9:30 a.m. and make off with the loot.
The iconic Louvre Museum in Paris shuttered its doors on Sunday after a theft took place, according to France’s culture minister. Donald Pearsall / NY Post DesignThe break-in triggered the alarms on the exterior window of the Apollon Gallery, as well as on two high-security display cases, according to a press release from France’s Ministry of Culture.
“The five museum agents, present in the room and in the adjacent spaces, immediately intervened,” to alert the police and get visitors out of the gallery, the ministry said in its statement.
“The criminals were put to flight, leaving behind their equipment,” the statement continued.
