The alleged mastermind behind the €88m (£75m) Louvre museum in Paris last October was disappointed by the haul and thought “they could have taken more,” two men suspected of the heist reportedly told investigators.
The thieves, locally known as Abdoulaye N and Ghelamallah A, claimed they had broken into the Louvre’s Apollo gallery on the orders of a client, according to the French newspaper Le Monde, citing transcripts of questioning. They refused to name the client out of fear for their families.
During the burglary, which made global headlines and led to the museum’s director resigning, the thieves seized eight pieces of jewellery, including tiaras, a brooch, necklaces and earrings.
However, during the escape, they reportedly dropped a gem-encrusted crown worn in the 19th century by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III.
“Yes, it was me, it fell out of my bag,” Abdoulaye N admitted when the judges showed him a photograph of the badly damaged crown: “What we did wasn’t right, it’s very serious.”
Mastermind “wasn’t happy”
Abdoulaye N told the judges that they had given the loot to the alleged mastermind, who “wasn’t happy” with the outcome — “He thought we could have taken more.”
The thieves said they were hired only two or three days before the break-in and were shown a video filmed inside the gallery, showing the cases containing the Napoleonic jewellery, to prepare them for the heist.
Abdoulaye N said that they were given a clear mission — “Break windows and retrieve jewellery from inside the display cases.”
He said he had been “in dire straits” financially. Promised €15,000-€20,000 for his role in the burglary, a former minor social media star with a passion for motorbikes said, “Maybe more, depending on how much money it would bring in.”
The mastermind’s motivation, he said, had been financial, and he had planned to resell the stolen jewels.
One knew, one didn’t
Abdoulaye N told the investigators that he “knew I was going to rob the Louvre,” but Ghelamallah A said the target was initially presented to him as “a jewellery store where they make jewellery in Paris” and not the most visited museum in the world.
“I would never have set foot there if I had known,” Ghelamallah, who was promised a fee between €20,000 and €25,000.
Louvre museum heist: Race against clock
The duo allegedly broke through the window of the Apollo Gallery after gaining access to a first-floor balcony via a furniture lift. They then entered the museum and began cutting out the windows of two display cases.
“When we got in, there was no one there, it was dark, only the lights in the display cases were on,” Abdoulaye N was quoted as saying. “In the distance, I could see security moving around, behind a door, or something.”
He said he had been aware they were racing against the clock.
“We had to take as much jewellery as we could,” he said. “If we take more than three minutes, we know we have to leave; otherwise, we’ll be reported. For me, what we did was taking too long.”
What happened to the looted jewels?
The thieves, according to the French newspaper, said they did not know what had become of the jewels after the heist. However, they refused to provide investigators with clues about the mastermind’s identity or any accomplices, for fear of reprisals.
“They’re no choirboys,” Ghelamallah A said. Abdoulaye N was equally cautious: “I wasn’t threatened, but I received calls from outside [while in detention]. They told me to keep quiet.”
The investigators, however, have not confirmed the burglars were acting on anyone’s behalf, Le Monde said.
