The Association for Research into Crimes against Art's art crime blog is dedicated to uncovering, analysing, and reporting on art crime in all its forms: from museum thefts and forgeries to looting and illicit trafficking. Our volunteer writers are cultural heritage professionals who volunteer their expertise to bring depth, accuracy, and context to stories that often go overlooked by mainstream media or are covered only superficially.  

Each article on our blog helps raise awareness about the vulnerabilities facing the world’s shared artistic legacy and the ongoing efforts to protect it. For example in the last ten days ARCA has written several blog posts on the topic of the jewel heist at the Musée du Louvre, its aftermath, the arrests of suspects, and some analysis of museum thefts as can be seen here:

Jewel Heist at the Musée du Louvre;

France's Louvre museum is not the only museum which has been robbed of its gold and jewel finery, here are 20 others;

Beyond the “Dr. No” Myth: Rethinking Who Steals from Museums like the Louvre and Why;

Balancing Beauty and Risk: The Challenge of Museum Security in Historic Buildings;

Two Suspects Arrested in Connection with the Louvre Museum Jewel Heist;

Breakthrough in Louvre Crown Jewels Theft: Five New Arrests

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One of ARCA's overly-caffeinated crotchety ole journalists. 

 

Traced through DNA samples left on objects recovered at the crime scene and around the broken window used to access the museum's Apollon gallery and Beccuau's statements relayed more information about the two individuals, originally residents in Seine-Saint-Denis, presently in French custody.  

The 34 year old suspect was arrested at 8:00 pm at Charles de Gaulle airport last Saturday, with a one-way ticket to Algeria.  He is an Algerian-born resident living in Aubervilliers. Unemployed and known to the French police for a theft conviction as well as various traffic offences, he has lived in France since 2010 and once worked as a delivery driver and garbage man.  His DNA traces was found on one of the scooters used in the thieves' getaway after the robbery.

The second 39 year old suspect was arrested the same night at around 8:40 p.m. He was born in Seine-Saint-Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  An unlicensed taxi and delivery driver, he was taken into custody near his home in Aubervilliers.  Like the first accomplice, he was already known to police for aggravated robberies committed in 2008 and 2014.  At the time of his arrest this week, he was also under judicial supervision while awaiting trial for the charge of aggravated theft in Bobigny, a northeastern suburb of the French capital.  He was tied to the robbery by DNA  found on one of the broken display cases, as well as on objects abandoned as the thieves fled. 

In talking about the case breakthroughs, the prosecutor clarified that there was no evidence that supported statements that this individual had plans to leave the country, dispelling earlier statements in news articles that said that this suspect was intent on leaving France for Mali. 

Both of these suspects have been identified as the two individuals who road the lift elevator and entered into the museum to steal the jewels.  Brought before French Magistrates on Wednesday, they have now been formally charged with organised robbery, which carries a sentence of fifteen years imprisonment and criminal conspiracy, which carries a sentence of ten years imprisonment. 

Later last night, around 9 pm, Prosecutor Beccuau's office released a statement that five more suspects were apprehended by investigators from the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry (BRB) in connection the the museum heist in the swanky 16th (Marseille) and the impoverished 93rd arrondissement (Seine-Saint-Denis) of Paris.  One of these is believed to have been another of the four alleged robbers who carried out the heist and who was linked to the robbery through DNA evidence.

For now the Paris prosecutor has indicated that the stolen jewellery "is not in our possession" and "I want to remain hopeful that they will be found and can be returned to the Louvre Museum and, more broadly, to the nation".

Further news is expected later this morning. 

News of a break in the case was first reported by the French news service, Le Parisien  citing anonymous sources,

The newspapers story was confirmed via the Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, who stated that two men in their thirties were arrested.  One subject was taken into custody while preparing to board a flight to Algiers at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport northeast of the city centre of Paris.  The second suspect was apprehended at a location in Seine-Saint-Denis, a historically working-class immigrant commune in the northern suburbs of Paris.  

Both suspects are said to have prior records according to French media and will likely be formally charged with organised robbery and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime.

In her statement, prosecutor Beccuau expressed regret over the premature press release of information related to the case, emphasising that such leaks could seriously undermine the investigation.  She noted that the disclosure risked hindering the coordinated work of roughly one hundred investigators who have been mobilised to recover both the stolen jewellery and apprehend all those involved in the crime. Her comments reflected concern that publicising sensitive details too soon could compromise ongoing efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The investigation continues as authorities search for the remaining two members of the four-man team as well as the missing jewels.

An investigator checking a window for fingerprints after the theft of the Star of India, a 563-carat sapphire the size of a golf ball and other germs were stolen from the American Museum of Natural History Hall of Gems on 29 October 1964.

Across the world, many of the most beloved museums are housed in centuries-old buildings, architectural treasures that, while magnificent, bring unique risk management challenges. Historic facades, original doors, and delicate window glass may charm visitors, but they were never designed for the rigours of modern museum operations.  Not to mention they require periodic and costly maintenance which only  increases their vulnerability. These fragile elements, though aesthetically invaluable, offer little defense against vibration, temperature swings, or forced entry, leaving museum collections more vulnerable than their counterparts in modern, purpose-built institutions.

Jack Ronald Murphy, the infamous "Murph the Surf", was among the thieves behind the audacious 1964 American Museum of Natural History jewel heist in New York. Boasting afterward that "it really was no big deal — a job like this we could pull off anytime," Murphy and his accomplices were swiftly caught, just days after stealing the extraordinary cache of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and gem-studded jewellery, in part because of their extraordinary partying afterward. 

While lawyers in this case negotiated relatively lenient deals for the trio connected to the museum's burglary, "Murph" was incarcerated for two decades, tried for the brutal robbery/homicides of Terry Rae Frank and Annelle Marie Mohn in Broward County, Florida whose bodies were recovered in tidal waters, with cement blocks fastened around their necks.  Just a side point to underscore and think about when the public questions, museum security guards engagement with thieves while still in the midst of a violent robbery. 

Scaffolding at the Louvre in Paris, allowed access to the building which allowed burglars to steal the diamond encrusted sword of King Charles X, on December 16, 1976.

Beyond physical vulnerability, environmental control presents another hurdle. In cities where summer temperatures soar, galleries within heritage structures often struggle to maintain stable climate conditions essential for not only the preservation of art in the collection, but for the comfort of the museum's visitors.  Retrofitting historic spaces for efficient temperature regulation without compromising their integrity is technically difficult and financially demanding.

View of St. Peter's Basilica from inside I Musei Caticani

Complicating matters further, strict preservation laws sometimes limits the scope of modern interventions. Legislation designed to protect authenticity can inadvertently hinder building upgrades which would provide better protection, forcing institutions into a delicate balancing act between conservation ethics and contemporary security demands. This is why it’s not uncommon to find state-of-the-art display cases housed in rooms where the original, centuries-old windows still serve as vulnerable entry points.

Finely engraved gold by the Etruscans alongside refined glass paste of Syria protected inside alarmed cases in the Villa Poniatowski (Villa Giulia), a Renaissance villa that houses Italy's National Etruscan Museum

One thing to remember, as art thieves become increasingly resourceful, blending tried and true old methods with new targets for theft, today's historic museums face mounting pressure to innovate within the constraints of their own history, ensuring that beauty and security can coexist without compromise.

If you’d like to learn more about how to safeguard museums and cultural heritage, consider applying to ARCA’s Postgraduate programmes in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection. These unique courses offer specialised training in risk assessment, security strategy, and the legal and ethical dimensions of cultural property protection. It’s an invaluable opportunity for truly understand that  preservationcomes with professional expertise.

The thought-to-be-stolen, actually apparently-not-stolen framed gouache artwork underwent forensic analysis by police working with Spain's Historical Heritage Brigade, who are continuing the investigation.  They have confirmed that the artwork is the original work by the Malaga-born artist.  Once their ongoing investigation concludes, the painting will be returned to the private collector who originally loaned the piece to the CajaGranada Foundation exhibition.

Initial reports had previously stated that the painting had been packed on September 25 and departed the capital on October 2 in a van escorted by two couriers.  That brief, four-hour journey took a puzzling turn as the couriers are said to have made an unusual overnight stop in Deifontes a short distance from their delivery point, sleeping inside their vehicle to guard their high-value cargo, which had a total insured value exceeding €6 million. 

A short while after the shipment of 58 still life works from the 17th century and the 20th century had been delivered to the CajaGranada-Motril Cultural Center, the Picasso was registered as missing. 

The current line of thinking with the Policía Nacional is that they believe the painting may not have even made it onto the transport truck leaving Spain's capital. 

Recuperado el #Picasso 🖼 desaparecido en su traslado a una exposición en #Granada

Podría no haber llegado a subir al camión de transporte

La Brigada de Patrimonio Histórico de @policia mantiene abierta la investigación una vez que agentes de Policía Científica han… pic.twitter.com/lb5jN8tFvI

— Policía Nacional (@policia) October 24, 2025

In the 1962 film, "Dr No", James Bond spots the actually stolen "Portrait of the Duke of Wellington" by Francisco Goya in Dr. No’s lair.

A question ARCA get's asked often is whether works of art stolen from museums end up with wealthy private collectors for their hidden lairs.

When journalists raise the idea of a “theft-to-order” commissioned by an elusive connoisseur who purchases stolen works to display in secrecy has persisted in popular imagination for decades.  Yet, in practice, this trope has little grounding in criminological reality.  As in many forms of property crime, museum theft is less often the result of grand conspiracy involving a “Dr. No” type figure, than it is about  opportunism and the exploitation of institutional vulnerabilities.  In truth, the motivations and personalities who make up the actors involved in art crime are far more complex, and have little to do with the Hollywood myth. 

Impulsive Crimes of Opportunity

Take, for example, the case of Kempton Bunton, a retired British bus driver, who confessed to stealing Francisco Goya’s Portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London’s National Gallery in 1961. Bunton wasn’t wealthy, nor was he a criminal mastermind.  He was a disgruntled pensioner who objected to public money being spent on expensive art while the poor had to pay for a TV tax, for watching the telly in their home.  The painting spent weeks not in a villain’s lair or secret vault, but behind a wardrobe in Bunton’s modest Newcastle council flat. That incident also made it to the big screen, in a film aptly titles "the Duke,  staring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. 

By contrast, some thefts do arise from explicit financial arrangements.

There are, however, the occasional, 

One infamous "if-you-steal-it-I-will-buy-it" arrangement is the 2010 Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris heist, carried out by French burglar Vjéran Tomic, nicknamed “Spider-Man” for his acrobatic rooftop exploits.  After methodical planning, he broke into the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris under the cover of darkness, gaining entry by manipulating window screws over several nights using acid.  He then entered through the window, sidestepped defective alarms, and absconded with five masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Amedeo Modigliani, and Joseph Fernand Henri Léger, estimated to be worth over €100 million. 

But Tomic did not act alone in the museum burglary: Jean Michel Corvez, a Parisian art dealer, is believed to have commissioned, or minimally financially incentivised,  the heist.  Corvez provided Tomic with a target list of artists desired by his clients, one of them being a Léger.  Corvez then offered the cat burglar payment once the works had been stolen. 

After the burglary, the paintings passed through a third accomplice, watchmaker Yonathan Birn, who was tasked with storing them, who later claimed to have destroyed them in panic. In February 2017 the trio were convicted.  Tomic received eight years; Corvez seven years, and Birn six. 

This case demonstrates how traditional property crime can intersect with art-market demand structures, transforming theft into a form of illicit commission.

Art crime also intersects with organised criminal economies, where artworks function as negotiable assets.

Right now there is an enormous drug trafficking trial underway in Belgium involving the alleged cocaine kingpin Flor Bressers, nick-named "the finger cutter" who over encrypted messages, told fellow criminals that he purchased the painting "Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer" by Frans Hals (worth millions) for €550,000 in September 2020, hoping to use it's return as a bartering tool with the authorities to keep then-girlfriend out of jail were they to be caught.   That painting was stolen, (for the third time in a span of thirty-five years,) by an enterprising thief from the Hofje Van Aerden museum.  That thief, Nils Menara, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the the theft of the Hal's painting as well as the theft of Vincent Van Gogh's  The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring.   Only the Van Gogh has been recovered. 

Earlier, drug trafficking kingpin and Camorra's affiliate Raffaele Imperiale, once one of Italy's most-wanted fugitives, bought two stolen paintings by Vincent Van Gogh taken from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.  Both were later recovered after the convicted organised crime figure told the authorities were the paintings were. 

Such cases highlight how the symbolic and financial value of art can converge with individuals involved in large transnational organised crime circuits, where cultural property becomes a form of collateral or currency for underworld actors.

Even militias have found stolen art useful.

Sunday's Musée du Louvre heist has captivated global attention as an example of a spectacular daylight raid on one of the world’s most visited and symbolically important cultural institutions. Yet, while the audacity and precision of the theft are shocking, the event is not unique, nor is it just a "France" problem.  

Museums across the world, from Berlin to Hyderabad, from Dresden to Cardiff, have been targeted for their treasures. Whether it is the glint of gold, the rarity of ancient gems, or the prestige of royal jewels, institutions that safeguard the world’s cultural inheritance have face the dual challenge of welcoming the public while defending against those who would steal from it. The Louvre Museum incident is therefore part of a much larger pattern, one that reveals the enduring allure and vulnerability of gold and jewels, history, and craftsmanship in a modern world that can strategically monetise cultural patrimony. 

Here is a list of some recent noteworthy museum heists, some with recoveries, others not:

1. British Museum (London, UK) – curator-linked insider theft (~2009-2018 publicly revealed)

The suspected perpetrator is a former veteran curator, Peter Higgs, who held a senior post in the Greece & Rome department. The museum claims Higgs used his privileged access and knowledge of the collection’s gaps to remove items, alter or delete records, then sell them — often via eBay and PayPal under false identities — over a period spanning at least several years. 

On 26 March 2024, a London High Court ordered Higgs to list all allegedly stolen items, return what he still holds, and disclose the proceeds of sales.  The case is particularly notable because it underscores how insider threats — curators or staff with access to collections — can pose severe risks to heritage institutions, not just late-night break-ins or external smash-and-grabs.

2. Bode Museum, Berlin – 27 March 2017

The thieves then wheeled the coin out aided by insider knowledge of the museum’s security schedule. The heist shocked the museum world because of its audacity, the sheer weight of the object stolen, and the implication that even highly visible landmarks remain vulnerable to well-planned operations.  

The coin was never recovered and most believe it was melted down soon after the theft. 

3. Musée du Hiéron, Paray-le-Monial – 29 June 2017

The case is emblematic of how relatively modest regional institutions can be targeted for objects of substantial heritage value and how some thefts draw only short-lived media attention.

4. Doges Palace, Venice - 3 January 2018

According to the incident's reconstruction using cameras surveillance footage, two thieves, one serving as lookout and a second culprit who actively broke into a display case located in the Sala dello Scrutinio, quickly made off with 10 carat, grade D diamond and ruby pendant brooch and a pair of pear-shaped 30.2-carat diamond earrings in a platinum setting. As soon as the display case was breached, sounding an alarm, the pair deftly escaped through the crowded museum gallery, blending in among the patrons and were out of the museum before security could seal the museum's perimeter to apprehend them.

Both items belonged to His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, who is the first cousin of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.  

5. Musée Dobrée, Nantes – 13-14 April 2018 

After narrowly escaping being melted down after the French Revolution, the 16th century gold case containing the heart of Anne of Brittany, the only woman to have twice been crowned queen of France was stolen along with other items from the Musée Dobrée in a nighttime burglary between 13-14 April 2018 in Nantes.

6. Strängnäs Cathedral - 31 July 2018

Two thieves entered the Strängnäs Cathedral one hour west of Stockholm during opening hours and quickly made their way down to the lower sacristy at the far left of the cathedral, the room where royal jewels were kept. One there, they smashed a jagged hole into the bottom left of the glass case where the objects were displayed, stealing two crowns and an orb used at the funerals of King Karl IX and Queen Kristina.    

Exiting the museum at a brisk pace, the pair escaped on bicycles before boarding a boat on Lake Mälaren which contains hundreds of islands and is surrounded by several large towns and the capital, Stockholm.  Two accomplices, Johan Nicklas Bäckström and Martin Cannermo were convicted in the Attunda District Court in  large part due to the amount of DNA evidence left behind.   The jewels were recovered the following year in February. 

7. Nizam Museum, Hyderabad – 2 September 2018

In this theft the perpetrators were arrested in the following weeks and the objects were recovered. This heist underlined the vulnerability of heritage sites in parts of India, where lesser-known treasures may attract opportunistic thieves, and like with the Louvre museum, the site faces security challenges include mixing public access with historical building layouts.

8. Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire (UK) – 14 September 2019

The intruders drove two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates, entered the palace grounds just before 5 am, smashed a window and a heavy door, detached the art piece from its plumbing connections (which caused flooding and structural damage to the historic building) and left the site within roughly five minutes. 

Despite subsequent arrests and a trial, with men jailed for their roles in the theft, the gold artwork has never been recovered and is widely believed to have been cut up or melted down for its bullion value.  This case stands out not only for the extraordinary value of the object, but for the dramatic nature of the heist: a major heritage site, a pre-planned reconnaissance (one suspect reportedly visited the palace twice ahead of the theft), and an artwork that itself criticises excess and privilege.

Police are seeking six suspects who ransacked the17th-century French Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte near Paris, and tied up the palaces owners before making off with a haul worth €2m (£1.8m), authorities have said.

9. Chateau Vaux-le-Vicom (Maincy) – Mid September 2019

In the hours before dawn, six masked thieves crept into the private quarters of the lavish 17th-century chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte and tied up 90-year-old Patrice de Vogüé and his 78-year-old wife, Cristina, with neckties, according to local police. 

The couple, who opens the palatial home to the public, were uninjured, however the  thieves made off with an estimated €2 million in cash, emeralds and other jewels from the Baroque chateau's safe, which they emptied. 

10. Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe), Dresden – 25 November 2019

This case exposes how even well-guarded state museums with legacy architecture and internationally renowned treasures can still fall victim to organised crime networks, in this case members of one of the Arabische Großfamilie clans. 

11. Museum of Applied Arts, Belgrade (Muzej Primenjene Umetnosti) – 2019

Although precise dates and object lists remain incomplete publicly, the incident illustrates how institutional under-resourcing and internal vulnerabilities can enable thefts of culturally significant material, especially where tracking and transparency may be weaker than in major Western European museums.

12. Museo Civico a Palazzo Guicciardini ( Montopoli) - 28 October 2020

Thieves gained entry to this historic palazzo from the building's rear garden, forcing open the only unbarred window located between the first and second floors and bypassing the alarmed entrance and bookshop.  Once inside, they stole 17th silver, and silver and brass liturgical objects as well as metal antiquities, scooping up as mucg as they could and throwing the pieces haphazardly into garbage bags. 

13. Arundel Castle (West Sussex) - 21 May 2021

At approximately 10:30 pm, thieves targeted the medieval castle in Arundel.  Despite responding within minutes of the alarm going off, Sussex police arrived to find a burnt-out car, thought to be connected to the heist, and a display cabinet in the dining room stripped of £1 million worth of historic gold and silver artefacts, including a 16th Century set of gold and enamel rosary beads made up of a crucifix and a string of five decades made up of small beads, with five larger beads.  This rosary was carried by Mary Queen of Scots to her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587 and was bequeathed by her to Anne, Countess of Arundel, wife of St. Philip Howard.  In addition to these, several coronation cups given by Mary to the Earl Marshal of the day, and other gold and silver objects were taken. 

14. Kelten‑ & Römermuseum Manching – 21-22 November 2022

Tens of thousands of pounds worth of antique silver artefacts were stolen in an early morning raid between 02:40 and 03:30 GMT at this military museum in Nottinghamshire at Thoresby Park.

19. Musée Saint‑Remi – December 2023

Highlighting a case of insider threat, at the end of 2023 (inventory in December), the Musée Saint-Remi in Reims discovered that 130 coins: Roman, medieval and modern, which were missing from its storage. The losses triggered a formal investigation and, in early 2025, by cross-border cooperation Russia-France, seized matching coins from Moscow. Although perhaps lower in headline value than giant jewellery sets, the case is important for illustrating how gradual internal losses of heritage items may go undetected until routine checks reveal the gap, especially in institutions with littler public visibility.

Forty-nine jewellery pieces, created by twentieth century sculptor, painter, and Italian partisan, Umberto Mastroianni and loaned by his heir Paola Molinengo Sosta disappeared during a burglary between 5/6 March 2024 at the house-museum, Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera, which was once home to Italian poet and novelist Gabriele D'Annunzio. A 50th object was dropped when the thief or thieves departed.

21. Ely Museum – 7 May 2024

In the early hours of 7 May 2024, thieves broke into Ely Museum (Cambridgeshire, UK) and stole a Bronze-Age gold torc and matching gold bracelet dating back ~3,000 years. This theft highlights that even smaller local museums housing valuable examples of pre-historic metalwork are vulnerable to great losses as their artefacts are highly portable, extremely rare, and often less visible in high-security circles, making them tempting targets for specialist thieves.

22. Musée Cognacq‑Jay, Paris – 20 November 2024

On 20 November 2024, daytime thieves burst into the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris, stealing precious snuff-boxes and other luxury items from 18th-century collections. This daylight robbery in a central Paris museum, like the Louvre's underscores that the risk is not limited to dramatic late-night smash-and-grabs.  This meticulously planned raid, like the Louvre, lasted only minutes, during which the thieves targeted small but immensely valuable £5 million collection, due to their portability and worth.   It demonstrates that even open-hours thefts in busy urban settings are possible when the thieves planning and execute their crimes with precision.  

Thankfully, we have some recent recoveries in this incident. 

23. Musée du Hiéron (again) – 21 November 2024

Just one day after the Musée Cognacq-Jay thefts, on 21 November 2024, the Musée du Hiéron in France suffered its own bold daylight robbery of sacred art and jewellery. The fact that the same institution was hit so soon after a theft in Paris underlines what happens when vulnerabilities are exposed: criminals may act quickly to exploit perceived weakness.

Once the glass was breached, the culprits quickly snatched as many of the small gold and ivory statuettes and jewel encrusted elements as they could and in just two minutes the deed was done and the thieves' escape was made.

24. Museo Diocesano di Nocera – 14 January 2025

In a nighttime burglary, three thieves broke into the the Diocesan Museum of San Prisco, located within the Episcopal Curia of Nocera Inferiore and stole a series of votive objects and precious objects including Jewellery, bracelets, rings and votive offerings from three display cases which were part of the Treasure of San Prisco, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of euros

25. Drents Museum, Assen – 25 January 2025

On 25 January 2025, early morning, thieves used an explosive device at the underground garden entrance of the Drents Museum in Assen (Netherlands) to gain entry. The blast broke windows and enabled the hoist of ancient gold bracelets and a gold crown on loan from Romania’s national museum. Later official statements described this as a major cross-border heritage crime. 

This incident showcases how extreme force and organised crime tactics may be used, as well as how valuable insured items on loan may be targets.

26. Historisches Museum Basel – Late May 2025

A historic finger ring was stolen from the Haus zum Kirschgarten, one of the three exhibition halls of the Basel Historical Museum. The ring bears the initials "B M" and is made from a piece of jewelry that Tsar Alexander I (1777–1825) presented to his hostess at the Segerhof in Basel as a gift in January 1814.  The theft was discovered at the end of May 2025 but was only made public in June 2025. 

27.  Egyptian Museum - September 2025

A 3,000-year-old gold bracelet once belonging to Pharaoh Amenemope was stolen from a secure safe inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo by a restoration specialist entrusted with its care. Rather than being preserved or sold intact, the artefact was melted down for its metal content, reducing an irreplaceable piece of Egypt’s ancient history to bullion worth only a small amount on the open market. The act represents not only a profound betrayal of professional trust but also a stark illustration of how the price of gold can incentivise destruction of world heritage, even for comparatively trivial financial gain.

28. Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery,  Exeter  – 10 September 2025

Seventeen antique pocket watches and a a flintlock blunderbuss firearm were taken during an overnight theft at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery after two people forced their way into the museum. 

29. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) – 15-16 September 2025

On 16 September 2025, a lone thief broke into the geology/mineralogy gallery of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Jardin des Plantes, Paris) and stole an Australian gold nugget weighing five kilos as well as smaller ones, from California and Bolivia, valued at ~€600,000. The targeted nature of the theft (raw gold specimens) indicates a recurring modus operandi: thefts in museums focused on easily transportable and smelt-able assets even within large heritage institutions.

On 21 October 2025 Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced that a 24-year-old Chinese woman has been arrested. Investigaors determined that she had left France the day of the break-in and was preparing to return to China. At the time of her arrest on October 13th, she was trying to dispose of nearly one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of melted gold.

30.  Sain Ffagan National Museum of History, Cardiff (Wales) – 6 October 2025

At 12:30 AM on 6 October 2025, two suspects smashed their way into the main building of  Sain Ffaganin Cardiff and pulled off one of the fastest museum heists on record, just four minutes from entry to exit. 

Just days after the dramatic burglary at the Louvre Museum in Paris, French authorities reported an overnight burglary at the Musée de la Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot in Langres (Haute-Marne) where a “treasure” of gold and silver coins was stolen. According to local police the entry was detected around 11 a.m. on the morning after windows were found broken and a sliding door forced, but by then the thieves had already made off with the items, which reportedly came from a cache of some 2,000 coins worth roughly €90,000 when first discovered in 2011.