Overview
- Prosecutors announced a full-scale investigation after roughly 6 kilograms of gold bars vanished from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
- Authorities identified a China-born 24-year-old woman as a suspect, who was detained in Barcelona on September 30 while attempting to return to China and later transferred to France.
- Investigators believe most of the stolen gold, valued at about €1.5 million, has already been disposed of and are working to trace its path.
- Cutting tools and gas burners found at the scene resemble items reported at an October 19 robbery at the Louvre, prompting scrutiny of a possible operational link.
- The theft was noticed on September 16 by a cleaner, and the missing items include pieces donated to the museum in 1833 by Russian Emperor Nicholas I.