Gold Theft at the Natural History Museum in Paris: A Chinese Woman Charged and Detained

A 24-year-old Chinese woman has been charged and placed in provisional detention for her involvement in an organized theft of gold nuggets at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, as announced by the Paris prosecutor on Tuesday.

The woman was charged on October 13, having been "delivered that same day by Spanish authorities, who arrested her in Barcelona on September 30 under a European arrest warrant," stated prosecutor Laure Beccuau in a press release.

The incident occurred on the morning of September 16, just over a month before the dramatic jewel theft at the Louvre that took place on Sunday.

A museum curator discovered the gold nuggets were missing after being alerted by a cleaning staff member who found debris at the scene, Beccuau recounted.

Among the stolen items were: "nuggets from Bolivia bequeathed to the Academy of Sciences in the 18th century; nuggets from the Ural mountains, gifted by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia to the museum in 1833; and nuggets from California discovered during the gold rush of the late 19th century," along with "a gold nugget weighing over 5 kg from Australia, discovered in 1990," she detailed.

The total weight of the stolen pieces was estimated at nearly 6 kg, with financial losses assessed at 1.5 million euros, reflecting the value of the native gold, which exceeds that of standard gold. Additionally, there were 50,000 euros in material damages related to the break-in.

"The historical and scientific value of these pieces was deemed priceless," emphasized the Paris prosecutor.

Investigators from the Anti-Organized Crime Brigade (BRB) found that two doors had been cut open using a power tool. Inside the mineral gallery, the display case housing the nuggets had been smashed with a blowtorch, which was found nearby. A power tool, a screwdriver, and three gas canisters used to fuel the blowtorch were also discovered at the scene.

Analysis of surveillance footage revealed that a single individual had broken into the museum shortly after 1:00 AM and exited around 4:00 AM after carefully monitoring the surroundings, explained Beccuau.

Phone investigations showed that this person left France on September 16 and was preparing to return to China.

At the time of her arrest, she attempted to dispose of nearly 1 kg of melted gold.

The investigation is ongoing, particularly regarding the whereabouts of the stolen items and any potential accomplices, added the prosecutor.