A Chinese-born woman has been apprehended and charged in relation to the audacious theft of six gold nuggets, valued at around 1.5 million euros, from the renowned Museum of Natural History in Paris last month. French prosecutors confirmed the charges, stating the suspect was arrested in Barcelona while attempting to sell melted gold, and is now in pre-trial detention.
The museum, known for its extensive collections of taxidermied animals and mineralogy exhibits, reported the theft from its mineralogy gallery. Investigators discovered tools such as an angle-grinder and a blowtorch at the scene, indicating a professional operation.
Adding to the sophistication of the crime, the museum’s alarm and surveillance systems were reportedly disabled through a cyberattack. According to French media reports at the time, the thieves were apparently aware of this vulnerability, suggesting a well-planned operation.
A spokesperson for the museum commented to French newspaper Le Figaro, “The thieves, clearly very experienced and well-informed, exploited a security flaw that had not been identified during the last audit conducted in 2024.”
The break-in was discovered by cleaners arriving for work early in the morning. The museum, affiliated with the Sorbonne university, is situated near the Jardin des Plantes in the heart of Paris.
Spanish police, acting on a European Arrest Warrant, apprehended the suspect on September 30th and subsequently handed her over to French authorities on the same day. Officials stated that upon her arrest, she was found with approximately one kilogram of melted gold. Investigations are ongoing, and it is believed she was preparing to depart for China.
Among the stolen items was a significant Australian gold nugget weighing 5kg, which at current market prices, would be worth an estimated €585,000.
Emmanuel Skoulios, the museum director, described the perpetrators to French broadcasters as an “extremely professional team, perfectly aware of where they needed to go, and with professional equipment.” He further emphasized the targeted nature of the theft, stating, “It is absolutely not by chance that they went for these specific items.”
This incident follows a series of high-profile museum thefts in France, including a recent daring raid at the Louvre where valuable items were stolen. Experts suggest that such stolen artifacts are often dismantled and sold for a fraction of their true worth.