PARIS: French police have launched one of the country’s biggest manhunts after the theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre, but experts say the priceless artefacts are likely gone for good, dismantled, melted or sold off within days.
Law enforcement officials and art crime specialists told Reuters that while investigators are confident they will eventually catch the culprits, recovering the jewels will be far harder.
“Once they’ve been cut into smaller jewels, the deed is done — it’s over,” said Christopher Marinello, founder of Art Recovery International. “We’ll never see these pieces intact again.”
AUDACIOUS HEIST SPARKS SECURITY QUESTIONS
The robbery, which took place on Sunday at the world’s most visited museum, has been described as a national humiliation and prompted urgent reviews of security at France’s cultural institutions.
“If you target the Louvre, the most important museum in the world, and get away with the French crown jewels, something was wrong with security,” said art investigator Arthur Brand.
The Louvre had already raised concerns about insufficient funding for security, and at least four other French museums have reported thefts in the past two months.
