The thieves who brazenly robbed the Louvre Museum in Paris and stole priceless jewelry in one of the most daring museum heists in recent memory may have been hired by a private collector, officials said.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau told local media that investigators believe the robbers, who carried out the raid in just seven minutes in broad daylight Sunday, may have been commissioned by a collector or purely motivated by the value of the jewels and precious metals, Reuters reported.
"We’re looking at the hypothesis oforganized crime," Beccuau told BFM TV, noting that the thieves could be professionals operating on spec for a buyer.
Beccuau added that if a collector did commission the heist, there is hope that the stolen pieces will remain intact and well-preserved until recovered, the outlet reported. If the thieves acted independently, they may have targeted the jewels for their potential use in laundering criminal proceeds.
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"Nowadays, anything can be linked todrug trafficking, given the significant sums of money obtained from drug trafficking," Beccuau said, according to Reuters.
Investigators are keeping all leads open, but foreign interference has reportedly been largely ruled out in the case.
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Former jewel thief Larry Lawton, who now assists police on such investigations, told Fox News that the operation "had to be an inside job" or the thieves must have "had inside information."
"How did they know how thick the glass was, whether there was an alarm on there?" Lawton asked.
Lawton added that if he were the thieves, he would not immediately sell the items to avoid detection.
"I might put them and stash them somewhere no one knows, wait a year or two," Lawton said, adding that companies would eventually give out a reward "with no questions asked."
"They’ll put up a million dollars for this … obviously they want their jewels back," he said.
The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, announced it would remain closed on Monday following Sunday’sdaring theft.
Masked thieves disguised as construction workers struck in front of visitors and staff Sunday morning, a period described as one of the museum’s most chaotic, authorities said. Officials said thieves extended a basket lift to a window and smashed it open with an angle grinder. They reportedly used a disc cutter to slice through glass panes protecting the jewels.
A total of nine objects were targeted, eight of which were stolen, officials said.The thievesfailed to take the ninth item, the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie, during their escape.
The crown alone is worth tens of millions of euros, though experts say it is not the most significant piece.
Authorities have not yet identified the robbers, who made their escape on motorbikes.
