Woman charged after 1m euros of gold stolen from Paris museum
A Chinese‑born woman has been arrested and charged over the theft of gold from the Natural History Museum in Paris, in one of several recent high‑profile break‑ins targeting French cultural institutions, a prosecutor said on Tuesday (21 October).
The theft — which the museum's director at the time described as the work of an "extremely professional team" — took place on 16 September, a little over a month before an audacious jewellery heist at the world‑famous Louvre museum on Sunday.
The 24‑year‑old woman was arrested in Barcelona on 30 September over the Natural History Museum break‑in and the theft of gold worth more than $1million, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.
The suspect was handed over to French authorities on 13 October, charged with theft and criminal conspiracy, and placed in provisional detention the same day.
Investigations showed she had left France on the day of the break‑in and was preparing to return to China.
At the time of her arrest, she was attempting to dispose of nearly one kilogram of melted gold pieces, the prosecutor said, without providing further details.
The Natural History Museum curator discovered the theft of exhibited gold nuggets after a cleaner reported debris on site.
The stolen items included nuggets from Bolivia donated in the 18th century, from Russia's Ural region gifted by Tsar Nicholas I in 1833, and from California dating to the gold rush era.
A five‑kilogramme nugget from Australia discovered in 1990 was also taken, Beccuau said.
Nearly six kilograms of native gold was stolen, with damages estimated at €1.5million ($1.7million), she added, noting that the historical and scientific value of the pieces was "priceless."
Native gold is a metal alloy containing gold and silver in their natural, unrefined form.
Investigators found two museum doors had been cut with a grinder and the display case breached using a blowtorch.
Tools including a blowtorch, grinder, screwdriver, gas cylinders and saws were recovered nearby.
Surveillance footage showed a lone intruder entering the museum shortly after 1am and leaving around 4am, according to Beccuau.
The investigation is ongoing, she added.
Police are also still searching for thieves who stole priceless royal jewels from the Louvre museum in a spectacular daylight robbery on Sunday.
The heist has reignited a row over security in France's museums.