Overview
- Belgian investigators say they recovered photos from inside the Louvre, including the Galerie d’Apollon, on mobile phones of freight thieves detained in Belgium, and that discovery has opened a new line of inquiry.
- Authorities in France are checking whether the Belgian detainees connect to four suspects already held in France for the October 19, 2025 raid that stole crown jewels estimated at about €88 million.
- The October break‑in involved masked attackers using a truck with a lift to reach a first‑floor balcony, entering through a window, threatening staff and removing high‑value jewels in a matter of minutes; the items remain missing.
- Investigators have long feared the jewels could be moved through Antwerp’s jewellery and diamond market, and officials say the new phone images could help trace whether an organised resale route was used.
- Forensic analysis of the mobile data and cross‑border evidence sharing are under way as French and Belgian authorities pursue a joint inquiry that could strengthen prosecutions and shed light on security failures at the museum.