Mastermind behind Louvre heist ‘wasn’t happy’ with €88million haul, suspects say
Two suspects reportedly told investigators the mastermind behind the Louvre robbery was ‘not happy’ with the €88m (£75m) haul.
The pair, named locally as Abdoulaye N and Ghelamallah A, were ordered to break into the world-famous museum’s Apollo gallery and steal the French crown jewels.
But his clients were disappointed with the loot as hired thieves could ‘get more’, despite stealing eight pieces of high-value jewelery worth a total of £75 million, including 8,700 stones.
According to the French newspaper Le MondeTranscripts of interviews with investigators revealed that the two men were ordered to carry out a very specific objective: ‘Break windows and remove jewelery from display cases.’
The suspects found a crown, a brooch, a necklace and earrings, as well as a tiara from III. He escaped, taking the crown worn by Napoleon’s wife, Empress Eugenie.
However, the suspects dropped the jewel-encrusted crown during the escape.
The daylight robbery shocked the world and made international headlines. But the mastermind behind the heist was unhappy with the work, which reportedly saw the pair paid between €15,000 and €25,000 (£12,800 and £21,300).
One of the suspects, 40-year-old unlicensed taxi driver Abdoulaye N, admitted: ‘Yes, it was me, it fell out of my bag.’ He added: ‘What we did was not right.’
French police officers stand next to the furniture elevator that robbers used to enter the Louvre Museum on October 19, 2025
CCTV footage of the moment an alleged Louvre robbery suspect reaches into a display case to steal the French crown jewels
Members of the forensic team examine a window believed to have been used in the robbery
He also told investigators his clients were ‘not happy’ because he ‘thought we could get more.’
The suspect claimed that he and his accomplice, a 36-year-old unemployed Algerian with Diogenes syndrome, were ordered to carry out a very specific goal: ‘Break the windows and remove the jewelery from the display cases.’
However, the suspects refused to name the person who planned the robbery for fear of retaliation against their families.
They were arrested just a week after the robbery, which took place on October 19, 2025, and have since been charged with theft as part of an organized gang.
According to Le Monde, they were hired just two or three days before the £75 million heist took place.
They had climbed onto the Louvre’s balcony in a freight elevator, entered the gallery with grinders, then descended via the elevator basket – all while in full view of astonished tourists – escaping from the police on their scooters in a matter of seconds.
Abdoulaye N said: ‘When we entered, there was no one there, it was dark, only the shop windows were on.
‘From a distance I saw security moving around behind a door… Then I broke the glass with an electric cutter and took out what was inside… I’ve done worse than this before, all I had to do was cut a hole…
The thieves escaped with the emerald necklace pictured from the Marie-Louise set. They were made by François-Régnault Nitot in 1810.
They also stole a pair of emerald earrings from the same set, pictured.
‘We had to get as much jewelery as we could… We knew if we stayed for more than three minutes we had to leave or we’d be caught. ‘In my opinion, what we did took too long.’
Recalling the planner’s disappointment, the suspect added, ‘We lost time getting in through the window.’
The incident was humiliating for the Louvre, one of France’s and the world’s most famous museums, which houses the crown jewels as well as works of art from around the world, some dating back thousands of years.
The oldest statue in his collection is the Statue of Ain Ghazal, a rare plaster statue dated 7000 BC from Ain Ghazal (a neolithic site in Jordan).
The incident led to the resignation of the Louvre’s director.
