PARIS –
Crime gangs around Europe are increasingly robbing valuable jewels and gold from cash-needy museums such as the Louvre, but while law enforcement often catches the thieves, they struggle to recover the priceless goods, police and art experts say.
Only a small pool of criminals would be capable of such a job as Sunday’s audacious robbery in Paris and may already be known to police, the specialists say. But the objects themselves could be quickly broken down into component parts and sold on.
“If I steal a Van Gogh, it’s a Van Gogh. I can’t dispose of it through any other channel than an illicit art market,” said Marc Balcells, a Barcelona-based expert in crimes against cultural heritage. “But when I am stealing … jewellery, I can move it through an illicit market as precious stones.”
