Tom McArthurand
Gabriela Pomeroy
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French police are desperate to retrieve priceless jewels stolen from the Louvre in a brazen daylight robbery, but experts have warned it may already be too late to save them.
In Paris on Sunday, thieves broke into the world’s most-visited museum, stealing eight valued items before escaping on scooters, in a daring heist that took about eight minutes.
Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told the BBC he feared the jewels may already be “long gone”, having been broken up into hundreds of parts.
It is highly likely the pieces will be sold for a fraction of their worth and smuggled out of France, other experts have said.
Who may be behind the heist
BFMTV
The thieves wore work clothes including hi-vis jackets as they smashed into the museum
The group were professionals, Mr Brand believes, as demonstrated by the fact they were in and out of the Louvre so quickly.
“You know, as a normal person, you don’t wake up in the morning thinking, I will become a burglar, let’s start with the Louvre,” he said.
“This won’t be their first heist,” he said. “They have done things before, other burglaries. They are confident and they thought, we might get away with this, and went for it.”
In another sign the professionalism of the gang is being taken seriously, a specialist police unit with a “high success rate in cracking high-profile robberies” has been tasked with tracking them down.
Authorities have said they suspect the heist is linked to an organised crime network. Mr Brand says it means the perpetrators will likely have criminal records and be known to the police.
Police on Monday said a vest and equipment left at the scene had been submitted for analysis. Mr Brand suggests DNA evidence would be a likely way the thieves could be caught.
Organised crime groups like these generally have two objectives, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. “Either to act for the benefit of a sponsor, or to obtain precious stones to carry out money laundering operatio
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