Louvre heist: Wild new footage shows moment alleged thieves escaped with jewels worth $157 million
Striking new footage of the Louvre heist has emerged, revealing the moment two suspected thieves made a daring escape in broad daylight with France’s staggering $157 million worth of jewels.
Thieves used a crane-mounted ladder to reach the second-floor balcony of the world-famous Paris museum on Sunday.
They allegedly cut out a window using an angle grinder and entered the Apollo Gallery, just a few rooms away from the iconic Mona Lisa painting.
Once inside, they smashed a display case and seized eight “priceless” jewels in just a few minutes.
A now-viral video shows the suspects climbing down from the balcony with a truck-mounted basket lift moments later.
One of the alleged attackers is seen wearing a high-vis vest, while the other is seen wearing a motorcycle helmet.
While the footage was cut before they reached the ground, it was widely reported that they fled the scene on electric scooters.
Museum staff can be heard panicking in the background as the suspects flee in slow motion.
WATCH THE VIDEO IN THE PLAYER ABOVE.
Many in France and around the world were stunned to see how four hooded attackers broke into the world’s most visited museum, smashed a second-floor window and escaped with a fine loot before being caught.
Surprisingly, the Louvre’s cameras failed to detect the thieves in time to prevent their daring daylight robbery.
French Ministers admitted that there were serious security breaches.
“We did not detect the thieves’ arrival early enough,” Louvre director Laurence des Cars told a Senate committee, blaming the lack of sufficient cameras monitoring the museum’s perimeter.
“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work every day, we were defeated,” he said.
He said that the external security cameras did not fully cover the facade of the museum, adding that the window through which the thieves entered was not monitored by CCTV.
Ms des Cars offered her resignation but this was rejected by Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who has come under criticism over the mounting accusations following the robbery.
The manager emphasized that he had repeatedly warned that the security of the centuries-old building was in a very bad condition.
“The warnings I made last Sunday have come horrifyingly true,” he said.
He has promised to impose a parking ban in areas around the Louvre, improve the CCTV network and ask the interior ministry to set up a police station inside the museum.
– via Reuters
