How did they rob the Louvre? Art theft expert shares his thoughts

The Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, is now at the center of a stunning heist.

Over the weekend, thieves stole priceless jewels once worn by French royalty, and today they are still on the run.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum right here in Boston is home to the largest property theft in the world, and the FBI is still trying to track those pieces down.

We spoke to an art theft expert who is also the director of security and chief investigator at the Gardner Museum about the logistics of this heist at the Louvre and what the thieves might be planning to do with the crown jewels.

The plot was carried out just 30 minutes after the Louvre opened on Sunday morning.

The daylight heist, which occurred about 30 minutes after opening with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory.

“That tells me the thieves must have known something about security mechanisms being disengaged, because the museum was now open but also that that gallery would be empty at that moment,” said Anthony Amore, an art theft expert and investigator.

Amore has been working alongside the FBI for decades to recover the 13 works of art stolen from the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum back in 1990.

“When you think about art theft, you do think about paintings typically, but these are true works of art. And more than that, they are so important to that nation’s history,” he said. “It’s important cultural patrimony, but for a thief, it’s dollar signs.”

France’s interior minister said the Louvre thieves used an electric ladder mounted on a truck to break into a second-floor window and make their way to the French crown jewels. In an operation lasting only seven minutes, they stole nine items, including sapphire and emerald necklaces, earrings and tiaras.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that they were stolen for some collector,” Amore said. “That rarely, if ever, happens when you talk about these sorts of heists. Rather, I think a worst case scenario is the thieves look at something like a crown or some sort of crown jewel and think, ‘Let’s separate it.’”

Given the ongoing restoration at the Louvre, Amore said it’s possible that staff members thought the ladder outside was part of the construction.

There’s really no way to know right now.

But Amore said he’s optimistic the stolen pieces will be found since authorities already have several leads and there could be evidence in the vehicle that was left behind.