PARIS: A Chinese language girl has been arrested and charged over the theft of gold from the Pure Historical past Museum in Paris, in considered one of a number of latest high-profile break-ins concentrating on French cultural establishments, a prosecutor stated Tuesday (Oct 21).
The theft – by what the museum’s director on the time stated was an “extraordinarily skilled crew” – happened on Sep 16, just a little over a month earlier than an audacious jewelry heist on the world-famous Louvre museum on Sunday.
A 24-year-old Chinese language girl was arrested in Barcelona on Sep 30 over the Pure Historical past Museum break-in and theft of gold value greater than US$1 million, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated.
The suspect was handed over to French authorities on Oct 13 and was charged with theft and prison conspiracy and put in provisional detention the identical day.
Investigations confirmed she had left France the day of the break-in and was getting ready to return to China.
On the time of her arrest, she was making an attempt to eliminate practically 1kg of melted gold items, the prosecutor stated, with out offering extra particulars.
The Pure Historical past Museum curator found the theft of exhibited gold nuggets after a cleaner reported particles on web site.
The stolen objects included nuggets from Bolivia donated within the 18th century, from Russia’s Ural area gifted by Tsar Nicholas I in 1833, and from California courting to the gold rush period.
A 5kg nugget from Australia found in 1990 was additionally taken, Beccuau stated.
Practically 6kg of native gold was stolen, with damages estimated at 1.5 million euros (US$1.7 million), she added, noting that the historic and scientific worth of the items was “priceless”.
Native gold is a metallic alloy containing gold and silver of their pure, unrefined type.
Investigators discovered two museum doorways had been minimize with a grinder and the show case breached utilizing a blowtorch.
Instruments together with a blowtorch, grinder, screwdriver, gasoline cylinders and saws have been recovered close by.
Surveillance footage confirmed a lone intruder getting into the museum shortly after 1am and leaving round 4am, based on Beccuau.
The investigation is ongoing, she added.
Police are additionally nonetheless on the hunt for thieves who stole priceless royal jewels from the Louvre museum in a spectacular daylight theft on Sunday.
The heist has reignited a row over an absence of safety in France’s museums.
