(NewsNation) — In a heist Sunday that lasted only minutes, thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris and stole priceless royal jewels in broad daylight.
Occurring 30 minutes after the museum opened around 9:30 a.m. local time, four thieves used an electric ladder mounted on a truck to access the world’s most visited museum. They stole eight of France’s crown jewels and made their escape on scooters seven minutes later.
Former jewel thief Larry Lawton told “NewsNation Live” that all signs point to the heist being an “inside job.”
“That doesn’t mean the person was involved in it,” said Lawton. “If a person was married to a tour guide, if I’m married to a tour guide and I want to rob that place, you’re going to know everything you know.”
“How did they know that you could even get through that glass that wasn’t penetrable?” Lawton questioned. “How did they know exactly what window and stuff to go through? How did they know that construction stuff was there?
“So there’s definitely an inside element. I’m not saying they’re involved, but somebody had to tell them what was along, what was not.”
Heist was ‘very well planned’
Lawton described the operation as “very well planned” and explained that before pulling off a heist like this, “you have to know so much.”
Lawton believes that either a construction person authorized to work inside the Louvre at the time of the robbery or an employee of the museum must’ve been involved based on how efficiently the heist was pulled off.
“They weren’t looking for something; they went right to it,” he said.
What will the thieves do with the priceless jewels?
The eight pieces of jewelry stolen in the heist were located in the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, which contains France’s collection of crown jewels.
Lawton explained that because the jewelry is so recognizable, the thieves may break it down in order to sell the different pieces. He said that once broken down, no one would know where the “diamonds came from because they’re not marked.”
“They (the thieves) will wait a year or so until everything dies down,” acknowledged Lawton. “And guess what? The Louvre wants its jewels back.”
“They put out or the insurance company puts out a reward, $2 million reward with no questions asked to get these jewels back.”
Heist raises questions about Louvre’s security, museum security in general
“They didn’t protect stuff that could be ruined forever,” Lawton remarked, placing the blame for the robbery partially on the Louvre’s “lax” security.
“If you’re going to rob money or something of value, where do you go?” he said. “Where it is. They always say, ‘Why do you rob a bank? Because the money’s there.'”