Reported by: Henry Owen | Edited by: L. Imafidon
Paris, France — A Chinese-born woman has been charged in connection with the daring theft of six gold nuggets worth approximately €1.5 million ($1.75 million; £1.3 million) from the Museum of Natural History in Paris, French prosecutors confirmed on Monday.
According to investigators, the suspect was arrested in Barcelona while attempting to sell melted-down portions of the stolen gold. She has since been extradited to France and placed under pre-trial detention as investigations continue.
Police discovered that the break-in, which took place last month, was meticulously executed, with the thieves disabling both the museum’s alarm and surveillance systems through a targeted cyberattack. French media reports indicate that the perpetrators appeared to have prior knowledge of the museum’s security vulnerabilities.
“The thieves, clearly very experienced and well-informed, exploited a security flaw that had not been identified during the last audit conducted in 2024,”
said a museum spokesperson in an interview with Le Figaro.
When cleaners arrived for work before dawn, they found evidence of the break-in, including an angle grinder and a blowtorch, both of which were apparently used to cut into secure display casings in the mineralogy gallery, home to some of the museum’s most valuable specimens.
Officials said the suspect was apprehended on 30 September under a European Arrest Warrant and handed over to French authorities the same day. At the time of arrest, she was reportedly in possession of about one kilogram of melted gold, and was believed to be preparing to fly to China.
One of the stolen nuggets, originally sourced from Australia, weighed five kilograms and is valued at roughly €585,000 at current market prices.
The museum’s director, Emmanuel Skoulios, described the theft as “a highly professional operation” that was deliberately targeted.
“It is absolutely not by chance that they went for these specific items,”
Mr. Skoulios told France 2 Television, emphasizing that the thieves knew exactly what they wanted and how to get it.
This latest heist comes just days after a separate incident at the Louvre Museum, where a group of professional thieves stole eight priceless crown jewels in a swift eight-minute raid, escaping on scooters before police could respond.
Experts, including renowned Dutch art detective Arthur Brand, believe the gold and jewels from these recent thefts will likely be melted down or sold on the black market at a fraction of their actual value.
“This won’t be their first heist,” Brand told the BBC.
“They are confident, skilled, and clearly operating as part of an international network.”
French authorities say they are now investigating possible links between the Paris and Louvre burglaries, as at least four major French museums have been targeted in similar operations over the past few months.
Meanwhile, security has been intensified across France’s national museums amid fears of a broader coordinated art and artifact theft ring operating in Europe.
📸 Stone Report News – International Desk
🌍 stonereportersnews.com | ✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com
🗞️ “Telling the stories that matter — with truth, depth, and humanity.”
Add comment
Comments