Woman Charged over $1.7m Gold Theft at Paris Gallery
October 26, 25
(IDEX Online) - A woman has been charged in Paris with the theft of almost 6kg of gold - worth more than EUR 1.5m (USD 1.7m) - that was being exhibited at the capital's Natural History Museum.
She was arrested by Spanish police in Barcelona two weeks after the theft, while allegedly trying to dispose of some the gold, that had been melted down.
The theft took place on 16 September, about a month before the heist at the Louvre, which is less than three miles away.
The gold - several nuggets including one from Australia that weighed 5kg - was on display at the museum's mineralogy gallery.
"The thieves, clearly very experienced and well-informed, exploited a security flaw that had not been identified during the last audit conducted in 2024," a museum spokesperson told French newspaper Le Figaro.
The woman who was arrested, a 24-year-old Chinese national, was handed over to French authorities on 13 October and has been charged with theft and criminal conspiracy.
Police says the theft was carried out by "a highly professional team," using an angle grinder, blowtorch and other specialized tools.
Pic shows Natural History Museum, Paris.