Brazen Heist at the Louvre: Thieves Utilize Basket Lift to Steal Invaluable Jewels

A daring heist at the world's most-visited museum, the Louvre in Paris, took place yesterday morning when thieves used a basket lift to reach a window on the exterior of the building and escaped with jewels of "inestimable value". The incident occurred as tourists were already inside the museum, and the thieves managed to smash display cases and flee with the stolen items in just seven minutes. The Louvre was closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.

Key Takeaways:

• The heist occurred at around 9:30 am, when several intruders forced open a window using a basket lift and made off with jewels from display cases.
• The thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes and made their escape on two-wheelers, with no injuries reported.
• The stolen items have been described as having "inestimable" historical value, and a precise inventory is being compiled by the authorities.
• France's interior minister, Laurent Nunez, has described the incident as a "major robbery", stating that the thieves had entered from the outside using a basket lift, and were likely a team that had done scouting.
• The museum cited "exceptional reasons" for the closure, and forensic work is under way to investigate the incident.
• The culture minister, Rachida Dati, announced the robbery on social media, stating that a robbery took place at the opening of the Louvre museum.

Statistics:

• The heist took place in seven minutes.
• The thieves utilized a basket lift to reach the window on the exterior of the building.
• The stolen items have been described as having "inestimable" historical value.
• No injuries were reported during the heist.

Sources:

• Anya Surta/AP/PA Images
• Quoted from Rachida Dati, Culture Minister of France, on social media
• Laurent Nunez, France's Interior Minister, on France Inter radio.