• A Chinese woman was arrested for stealing gold valued at €1.5 million from the Paris Natural History Museum.
• The stolen items included historical gold bars and nuggets, and the thieves used specialized tools to break into the museum.

French prosecutors announced the arrest of a 24-year-old Chinese woman in connection with the theft from the Paris Natural History Museum, part of a series of recent high-profile thefts targeting French cultural institutions.

The theft occurred on 16 September by what the museum’s director at the time described as an “extremely professional team”, about a month before a bold jewelry heist at the world-famous Louvre Museum.

The suspect was arrested in Barcelona on 30 September and handed over to French authorities on 13 October, where she was charged with theft and criminal conspiracy and placed in provisional detention.

Investigations revealed that she had left France on the day of the robbery and was preparing to return to China.

At the time of her arrest, she was attempting to dispose of nearly one kilogram of melted gold pieces.

Museum officials uncovered the theft after a cleaner reported debris on site. The stolen gold included historical nuggets from Bolivia (18th century), Russia’s Ural region (gifted by Tsar Nicholas I in 1833), California (Gold Rush era), and a large five-kilogram nugget from Australia discovered in 1990.

In total, nearly six kilograms of native gold were stolen, valued at €1.5 million, with historical and scientific significance described as “priceless.”

Investigators found that the thieves cut through two museum doors with a grinder and breached display cases using a blowtorch.

Tools including a blowtorch, drill, screwdrivers, gas cylinders, and saws were recovered nearby.

Surveillance footage showed a single intruder entering the museum shortly after 1:00 a.m. and leaving around 4:00 a.m.