Louvre heist: Thieves steal priceless jewels, Paris museum closed

Thieves stole priceless jewels from the world-famous Louvre in Paris in a daring heist early Sunday that forced the museum to close for the day, officials said

Thieves stole priceless jewels from the world-famous Louvre in Paris in a daring heist early Sunday that forced the museum to close for the day, officials said.

The thieves broke in using a ladder mounted on the back of a truck at around 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET) as the museum was opening, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told radio station France Inter.

The culprits stole jewels of “inestimable value” from an area that houses the French crown jewels, before fleeing the scene on motor scooters, he said. He added that three or four thieves were involved.

It was “manifestly a team that had done scouting,” Nuñez said, adding that the “experienced” thieves broke into the Galerie d’Apollon by breaking an exterior window with a disc cutter. The stolen jewels had been kept behind glass inside the gallery, he added.

An image from the scene showed what appeared to be a furniture elevator propped up against a second floor balcony, with police gathered nearby to cordon off the area.