What will occur to Louvre jewelry after heist? There are two possible eventualities

The spectacular heist of jewelry from the Louvre museum in Paris has many individuals questioning how a theft like this might happen in broad daylight and what may occur to the gadgets that have been stolen from the museum.

In a matter of minutes, 4 thieves have been capable of enter by a first-floor window, break into safe glass shows, and take 9 gadgets of jewelry of immeasurable worth.

Although an alarm was set off and museum guards have been close by, the thieves have been capable of escape rapidly, utilizing motor bikes to get away. They dropped one stolen merchandise, a diamond and emerald-encrusted royal crown that had belonged to Empress Eugenie, Napoleon III’s spouse.

Their loot embrace jewelry from French imperial occasions – brooches, necklaces, earrings and a tiara. The French prosecutor’s workplace mentioned the jewels have been value some 88 million euros (A$157 million), not together with their historic worth.

The pace and professionalism of the heist reveals this was a well-planned crime, carried out by extremely expert perpetrators. That suggests they’re linked to organised prison teams.

Several media retailers reported a variety of smaller thefts from French museums in latest weeks, together with gold nuggets from the Paris Natural History Museum. There is not any suggestion these thefts have been linked to the Louvre heist.

What may occur to the loot?

The stolen jewelry contains well-known items which are simply recognisable. This will make it tough, if not inconceivable, to promote them on the black market, even to well-heeled collectors and patrons.

This drawback is well-known from different museum heists – such because the theft of the Canadian “Big Maple Leaf” large gold coin from Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017 or the well-known heist of 13 masterpieces by Degas, Manet and Rembrandt from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. Those work have by no means been recovered.

Instead, most consultants imagine one in all two eventualities are extra possible.

In the primary, the jewelry could be damaged down into smaller items. Diamonds and different gem stones could also be taken out, altered after which supplied on the market. Silver and gold could also be used to fabricate different items or could also be offered individually.

This state of affairs would make it simple to hide the origin of the items and promote them brazenly or on-line. The mixed worth, nonetheless, could be considerably decrease in comparison with leaving the items intact. It is thus uncertain the thieves focused the particular jewelry for this function.

Scenario two would contain the thieves, or extra possible the masterminds behind them, attempting to promote the items again to the Louvre or attempting to extort cash from the French authorities for his or her return.

This could also be performed by brokers or different middlemen and will not occur for some time, till there’s much less public and media consideration and the perpetrators really feel sufficiently secure to contact – instantly or not directly – museum or state authorities.

Given the historic significance of the items coupled with the embarrassment attributable to the heist, the Louvre and the French authorities could be eager to have the items returned as swiftly as potential and is likely to be prepared to barter, albeit secretively.

Much of this stays, nonetheless, hypothesis. Only just a few days have handed because the heist occurred and many questions on the occasions, perpetrators and their motives stay unanswered. And simply who could also be behind this spectacular heist from France’s largest museum has everybody guessing.

Similarities with a Dresden museum heist

The Louvre theft brings to thoughts the jewelry heist on the Green Vault on the Zwinger Palace in Dresden, Germany, in 2019.

In this case, the perpetrators had carefully examined the museum’s safety system for a lot of days and have been capable of enter the constructing with out being caught on digital camera. They entered by a window on the primary flooring and inside minutes stole 21 items of jewelry from a number of shows.

Unlike the Paris heist, the Dresden thieves entered at night time and used brute pressure to break the shows to take their loot.

Some years after the theft, German authorities have been capable of determine and arrest the thieves concerned within the heist – all 5 have been members of a infamous Berlin-based crime household.

The perpetrators have since been tried and convicted and are serving lengthy jail occasions. Most of the jewelry was retrieved and returned – unaltered – to its well-known house.

It is hoped the French authorities will quickly be equally profitable.

Andreas Schloenhardt is a Professor of Criminal Law, The University of Queensland. This article is republished from The Conversation.