A Chinese woman has been arrested and charged over the theft of $1 million worth of gold from the Natural History Museum in Paris, in a break-in that took place just weeks before the historic burglary of jewels from the Louvre.
The theft took place on September 16, roughly one month before the brazen heist of French crown jewels from the Louvre on Sunday. According to the South China Morning Post, the Natural History Museum director described the perpetrators as an “extremely professional team.”
The only reported suspect, a 24-year-old Chinese national, was picked up by authorities in Barcelona, Spain, on September 30. She was handed over to French police on October 13, and charged with theft and criminal conspiracy and placed in provisional detention. Investigators added that the suspect had departed France the day of the burglary, with plans to return to China. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told the press that at the time of her arrest, she was attempting to dispose of nearly 2.2 pounds of melted gold pieces.
A Natural History Museum curator uncovered the theft of several gold nuggets from their display case after a custodian reported suspicious debris in the exhibition area. The loot included nuggets from Russia’s Ural region gifted by Tsar Nicholas I in 1833, and pieces discovered in California during its gold rush. The thieves took 13 pounds of native gold; a rare, naturally occurring elemental form of gold that is free from alloys and resistant to tarnish. Beccuau called the historical and scientific value of the vanished native gold “priceless.”
Paris investigators said the thieves cut two museum doors with a grinder and breached the display case using a blowtorch. Both tools were found on site, along with a screwdriver, gas cylinders, and saws. A single intruder entered the museum shortly after 1 a.m. and fled around 4 a.m. The investigation is ongoing.
A global manhunt is underway for the thieves who broke into the Louvre on Sunday and absconded with some $102 million worth of jewels from the Napoleonic era. The break-in, which occurred in the daylight during museum operating hours, has reignited criticism over security at France’s cultural institutions.
