French police are said to be keeping a close eye on France’s border with Belgium following Sunday’s brazen jewellery heist at the Louvre in Paris.
The robbery unfurled at alarming speed, taking place between 9:30 and 9:40am on Sunday morning, shortly after the Louvre opened to visitors. Using a forklift truck parked on the side of the Seine quay, the suspects climbed to the height of a first-floor window, which they broke open using portable angle grinders.
They entered the Apollo Gallery, which houses the French Crown Jewels, and broke open two high-security display cases in which they were exhibited.
There, they took eight jewels "of inestimable heritage value," including the tiara of Empress Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III, Emperor from 1852 to 1870) and two necklaces.
French authorities are still searching for a "commando" of four individuals who carried out the heist.
Could the robbers seek to sell their loot in Antwerp?
According to The Times, French police are “paying particular attention to the Belgian border amid fears that the Louvre robbers could try to sell their loot in Antwerp”.
Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world. According to the Diamond Investment Office, 50% of the world's polished diamonds and 80% of rough diamonds are sold in the city.
Criminals seeking to offload stolen jewels often head to the Belgian port hoping to find a buyer or someone with the expertise to dismantle them or melt them down.
In 2016, a gang stole $10m (around €8.6m) worth of jewellery belonging to American reality television star Kim Kardashian from a luxury Paris apartment. After the heist, the gang reportedly fled to Antwerp, where the jewels were allegedly melted or broken up and sold.
Former art detective Janpiet Callens told Het Laatse Nieuws that the Louvre jewels were “priceless and unsellable” and said he expected them to be dismantled.
“Those jewels are meticulously documented. The photos will be sent to special registries and the entire international police force. Presumably, those pieces will be dismantled,” he said.
“In other words: those priceless jewels will be melted down and sold for a fraction of their true value. The stones will be processed. We'll likely never see those works of art again.”
