Louvre crown jewel thieves may melt down stolen loot, ex-FBI expert warns

A former FBI art crime expert says the gang of thieves who burglarized the Louvre Museum on Sunday and stole some of France’s most famous crown jewels may be able to melt down their loot.

Tim Carpenter also suggested that the team of robbers behind the “shocking” operation were focusing on treasures of immense cultural and historical value.

“This was a targeted robbery” The carpenter said Fox News Digital.

“They knew exactly what they were going for and understood the value and cultural significance of these pieces,” he continued. “They also understood that this was extraordinarily important to the people of France.”

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Carpenter also stated that it was “shocking”: “It was a daylight robbery while the museum was open.”

The Louvre was forced to close its doors after the daring morning theft, which took place in less than seven minutes and saw police race to recover the jewels.

The raid, which took place around 9.30am local time, targeted the museum’s Apollo Gallery, which houses historical treasures linked to Napoleon and Empress Eugénie.

The crew reportedly stole a tiara believed to belong to Empress Eugénie. Le Parisien reported.

According to Associated PressEight objects, including a sapphire tiara, necklace and single earring, were taken from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

An emerald necklace and earrings from Empress Marie-Louise’s matching set were also reportedly seized, along with her reliquary brooch, Empress Eugénie’s tiara and large corsage bow brooch.

“These can be melted or broken down,” Carpenter explained. “They will remove the stones from the crowns, cut the stones, and market them one by one.”

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Thieves carried out a daytime robbery at the Louvre Museum and stole the French royal jewels. (Thibault Camus/AP)

According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, the thieves, two of whom were disguised as construction workers, entered the museum after parking next to it. They extended the elevator to the first floor window and broke it open with an angle grinder.

“This is when the museum is at its most chaotic. People are starting to settle in,” Carpenter added.

“They came in through a window and they did it really brazenly. These guys are fast and they move quickly with a purpose, they get in and they get in there really fast,” he added.

After the robbery, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke to the radio station France Inter and said the thieves entered from the outside “using a basket lifter” and a “disk cutter” to cut glass panels containing valuable jewellery.

The ministry also said in a statement, “The investigation has begun and a detailed list of the stolen items is being prepared.” he said. “Beyond their market value, these items have invaluable heritage and historical value.”

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The Louvre is the largest and probably most crowded museum in the world. (iStock)

“Because it’s a historic building, it just has inherent vulnerabilities, and these guys found one of them and figured out a way to exploit it,” Carpenter said.

“It’s definitely a risk,” he continued. “When you look at a building like the Louvre… there always has to be a balance.”

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“I think local authorities have a very strong chance of doing a really effective criminal investigation, identifying these perpetrators, and recovering these items before they are lost to us,” Carpenter concluded.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Louvre Museum for comment.