Museum thefts across Europe are becoming more violent and are increasingly targeting high-value items such as precious metals, gemstones and culturally significant artefacts.
Offenders are using tools including sledgehammers, explosives and firearms to break into premises and intimidate staff, Europol said in a new report published on Monday.
Thieves are also shifting towards items that are easier to sell on illegally and for which there is high demand.
Europol said the report points to changing offender profiles, including ad-hoc groups recruited via social media rather than more established networks typically linked to non-violent cultural property trafficking.
It added that some perpetrators appear to be opportunists from other criminal sectors who move into museum thefts.
Recent cases cited in the report
The report highlights several cases, including the theft of Dacian artefacts in the Netherlands in 2025, a Louvre heist in France in 2025, and an attack on the Cognacq-Jay Museum in France in 2024.
National investigations into those cases were supported by property crime specialists at Europol’s European Serious and Organised Crime Centre.
