Louvre Heist: 2 arrested for stealing precious jewels from the famous museum of Paris, know how the incident was carried out

New Delhi. Two people have been arrested for stealing precious jewels from the famous Louvre Museum in Paris. The theft took place on October 19, in which the thieves made away with eight precious jewels worth approximately $102 million. It is being told that at the time of opening of the museum, the robbers broke the upper window using a crane and then fled on a motorcycle. This incident created a stir throughout France and many people called it an embarrassment for the country.

Theft happened in 8 minutes
The thieves had made a false excuse to steal a basket lift. They fixed an appointment with the company that owned the truck and then drove away with threats, but without a fight, Paris prosecutor Laurence Becuo said. The company filed a complaint of theft in the city of Louvre, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Paris.

At about 9:30 a.m., thieves dressed like maintenance workers parked a lift truck – common in Paris – on the sidewalk on the Quai François Mitterrand along the Seine River, below the Louvre. They placed traffic cones around the truck to make it appear as if some maintenance work was going on. Two people climbed onto a balcony using a ladder and entered through the window.

Both the thieves entered the southern end of the Apollo Gallery at around 9:34 am. An alarm went off in the security control room. A staff member present in the room made a radio call to the command center members and alerted them about the intruders. Within a minute, the robbers used a disc cutter to cleanly cut the glass of two display cases and took the jewellery. The security officer evacuated the visitors, keeping in mind the safety of the crowd. The museum manager called the nearby police station to report the theft in progress and sought immediate help.

At 9:36 am, a team leader in the command center activated a special button linked to Paris police headquarters. At 9:38 a.m., the thieves climbed out the same window and fled east with two more men waiting for them on two scooters. They left behind a yellow jacket, which construction workers often wear, and other items, including a disc cutter. Culture Minister Rashida Daati said that the security officer present at the spot stopped a thief from setting fire to the freight lift truck, otherwise a worse accident could have happened.