Paris Prosecutor's Office Detains 24-Year-Old Chinese Woman
Broke into National Museum of Natural History with Power Saw and Saw
Fled with Four Gold Nuggets Worth an Estimated 2.4 Billion Won
A Chinese woman in her twenties has been detained by French prosecutors on suspicion of stealing gold nuggets from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. According to Yonhap News on the 21st (local time), citing Le Monde, "The Paris Prosecutor's Office provisionally indicted a 24-year-old Chinese woman on October 13 on charges of organized theft and criminal conspiracy."
According to Yonhap News, the woman is suspected of breaking into the National Museum of Natural History in Paris in the early morning of September 16 and stealing gold nuggets weighing a total of 6 kilograms before fleeing. That morning, a museum cleaning staff member discovered debris on the floor of the exhibition hall.
Forensic analysis revealed that two museum doors had been cut open with a power saw, and the glass display case containing the gold nuggets had been destroyed with a welding torch. At the scene, investigators found a power saw, a screwdriver, three gas canisters for the welding torch, and a saw. Prosecutors stated to the media, "According to CCTV footage, one person entered the museum at around 1 a.m. and left at around 4 a.m."
A total of four artifacts were stolen. These included a Bolivian gold nugget donated to the French Academy of Sciences in the 18th century; a Ural Mountains gold nugget donated to the museum by Russian Tsar Nicholas I in 1833; a gold nugget discovered in California during the late 19th-century Gold Rush; and a gold nugget weighing over 5 kilograms found in Australia in 1990. Because these were natural gold nuggets, they were considered more valuable than standard gold bars, with the estimated loss amounting to 1.5 million euros (approximately 2.4 billion won).
After tracing the woman's phone records, prosecutors found that she attempted to leave France for China on the day of the crime. Authorities immediately activated judicial cooperation mechanisms across Europe, and on September 30, Spanish authorities arrested the woman in Barcelona and extradited her to France. At the time of her arrest, she reportedly tried to dispose of about 1 kilogram of melted gold pieces. Prosecutors stated that they are continuing to investigate to locate the stolen items and identify any accomplices.
On October 19, a separate incident occurred at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where a group of robbers armed with electric saws broke in and stole jewelry before fleeing. The perpetrators stole nine high-value pieces, including crowns belonging to Napoleon and the Empress, necklaces, and brooches. The theft took only seven minutes, and the stolen jewelry is considered invaluable cultural heritage. Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Culture Committee on October 22 to answer questions on the matter.
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