Gold worth 600,000 euros stolen in Paris museum heist
PARIS
Thieves have broken into Paris's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples worth 600,000 euros ($700,000) in the latest of a series of robberies from cultural institutions, according to the museum.
Famed for its dinosaur skeletons and taxidermy, the National Natural History Museum in the chic 5th district of the French capital also houses a geology and mineralogy gallery.
A break-in was detected on Sept. 16 morning, with the intruders reportedly using an angle grinder and a blow torch to force their way into the riverside complex that is popular with Parisians and tourists.
"The theft concerns several specimens of native gold from the national collections held by the museum," the museum's press office said.
"While the stolen specimens are valued at around 600,000 euros based on the price of raw gold, they nevertheless carry an immeasurable heritage value," it added.
Native gold is a metal alloy containing gold and silver in their natural, unrefined form.
An unnamed police source told the Parisien newspaper that the museum's alarm and surveillance systems had been disabled by a cyber attack in July, but it was unclear if they were working when the theft took place.
"We are dealing with an extremely professional team, perfectly aware of where they needed to go, and with professional equipment," museum director Emmanuel Skoulios told the BFM TV channel.
"It is absolutely not by chance that they went for these specific items," he added.
The museum closed its mineralogy gallery on Sept. 16 and was checking its collection for other losses.
One of its treasures is a native gold and quartz sample measuring nine by 8.5 centimeters which originated in the Donatia mine in California and was gifted to the museum by a wealthy French collector, according to its website.
The robbery "comes at a critical time for cultural institutions and museums in particular. Several public collections have indeed been targeted by thefts in recent months," the museum added.
