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Days after $102 mn heist, Louvre transfers precious jewels to Bank of France
The transfer of some precious items from the museum's Apollo gallery was reportedly carried out Friday under secret police escort.
The Louvre museum in Paris has transferred some of its precious jewellery to the Bank of France, radio RTL reported. This comes after a $102 million heist at the museum last weekend.
The Bank of France is just 500 meters away from the Louvre on the right bank of the River Seine, and holds the country's gold reserves in a massive vault located 27 meters undergound
While the Louvre and Bank of France have not publicly confirmed the transfer, the moving of some precious items from the museum's Apollo gallery was reportedly carried out Friday under secret police escort, RTL said citing unnamed sources.
The Apollo gallery houses French crown jewels.
The thieves stole eight jewellery pieces worth $102 million from the Louvre collection on October 19, thus exposing the vulnerabilities of the security system at the museum.
The heist took place in broad daylight, with the thieves using a crane to smash an upstairs window during the opening hours, and escaping on motorcycles after the robbery. They thieves had also allegedly taken a diamond- and emerald-studded crown, but dropped it while fleeing.
French investigators analysing DNA samples to identify robbers
In their efforts to identify and trace the robbers, the French investigators are analysing dozens of DNA samples and fingerprints, AFP quoted a prosecutor as saying.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told the Ouest France newspaper that up to “150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other traces” had been analysed and identified.
Beccuau said that the analysis was a priority, adding that the results from these could help provide leads, specifically if the thieves already have a criminal record, AFP reported.
While Louvre's director had on Wednesday admitted to a blind spot in the security surveillance of the museum's outside walls, Beccuau said public and private security cameras in other places had allowed detectives to track the thieves "in Paris and in surrounding regions."
