Thieves broke into the Paris Natural History Museum and stole gold samples worth 600.000 euros (700.000 dollars), which is the latest in a series of robberies of cultural institutions, the museum announced.
The National Museum of Natural History, known for its dinosaur skeletons and taxidermy exhibits, in the elegant 5th district of the French capital, also contains a geology gallery and mineralogical galleries.
The break-in was discovered on Tuesday morning, and the burglars reportedly used an angle grinder and a blowtorch to break into the riverside complex, which is popular among Parisians and tourists.
“The theft concerns several specimens of native gold from the national collections owned by the museum,” said the museum’s press service on Tuesday.
“Although the stolen specimens are valued at about 600.000 euros based on the price of raw gold, they nevertheless carry an invaluable heritage value,” it added.
Native gold is a metallic alloy that contains gold and silver in their natural, unrefined form.
An unnamed police source said that the museum’s alarm and surveillance systems were disabled by a cyberattack in July, but it is unclear whether they were working when the theft occurred.
“We are dealing with an extremely professional team, which knows perfectly where it needs to go and has professional equipment,” said the director of the museum, Emmanuel Skoulios.
