Detectives believe the Louvre theft was committed by an insider.
According to The Daily Telegraph, detectives investigating the €76 million Louvre theft have found evidence of an insider's involvement. Sources close to the investigation said digital evidence showed a member of the museum's security team had contact with someone believed to be the perpetrator before the theft occurred.
It is reported that the gang obtained sensitive information about the internal security system. Last Sunday, the thieves disguised themselves as maintenance workers and entered the Apollo Gallery of the museum in a truck equipped with a 9-foot-high furniture elevator. The thieves entered and exited within minutes, stealing eight pieces of French royal jewelry, and some have compared this loss to the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame de Paris.
Detectives have collected over 150 DNA samples and confirmed that the involvement of an insider is a line of investigation. Paris police have collected samples from the helmets and gloves used during the raid and tracked the thieves' escape route out of the capital. Experts warn that even if the police catch the gang, it may be too late to recover the jewels, as they may have already been dismantled. "Digital evidence shows that a museum guard colluded with the thieves," the anti-crime unit of the Judicial Police and the Central Office for Combating the Smuggling of Cultural Property are leading the investigation, with more than 100 detectives involved.
The Paris prosecutor said they are investigating whether the thieves received help from inside the museum, but sources told The Daily Telegraph that evidence of security personnel leaking information has already been found. A source said, "There is digital forensic evidence showing that a security officer at the museum colluded with the thieves. Sensitive information about the museum's security was leaked, and that's how they knew about the security loopholes." Detectives have not yet arrested anyone in connection with the theft, but Paris prosecutor Laurence Bécouze, who is handling the case, told Ouest-France that dozens of DNA samples were found in the gallery, including on the helmet, gloves, angle grinder, and a jacket discarded by the thieves.
He also added that the police were able to track the group's movement via closed-circuit television as they left Paris on two Yamaha TMax scooters heading to other areas. The Louvre has not commented on the investigation.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846991565198336/
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