The Telegraph: French police suspect Louvre guards of helping thieves

French police are investigating a possible conspiracy between museum staff and criminals following the high-profile theft at the Louvre, The Telegraph reports.

According to the outlet, digital evidence suggests that one of the security guards maintained contact with the alleged perpetrators and may have provided confidential information about the museum’s security system.

Sources indicate that investigators have obtained recordings and correspondence supporting this claim.

The robbery, carried out on Sunday, is the largest in the museum’s history. The thieves, disguised as maintenance workers, entered the Apollo Gallery — home to France’s royal crown jewels — using a truck equipped with a lift. They escaped within minutes, stealing eight pieces of jewelry valued at around £76 million (over €88 million).

The investigation is being led by the Brigade of Organized Crime in cooperation with the Central Office for Combating the Illicit Trade in Cultural Property. More than 100 detectives are involved in the operation.

Louvre Director Laurence de Car confirmed that surveillance cameras did not cover the balcony through which the thieves gained entry.

Paris prosecutor Laura Becco stated that more than 150 DNA samples and other traces were found at the scene. She also noted that police are exploring the possibility of museum staff involvement in the heist.

Some of the most valuable items from the Apollo Gallery have already been moved under guard to the Bank of France, where the country’s gold reserves are stored.

The robbery occurred on October 19, 2025, around 9:30 a.m., just as the museum opened to visitors, in the opulent Galerie d'Apollon housing French crown jewels and Napoleonic-era artifacts. Four masked intruders, dressed as construction workers in yellow hi-vis vests, used a crane-mounted basket lift from a nearby truck to breach a second-floor window, smashing display cases with angle grinders and a blowtorch in under seven minutes before fleeing on motorbikes. No visitors or staff were harmed, though five guards were nearby and activated alarms while prioritising evacuations.  

By Khagan Isayev