WEBVTT - How did thieves break into the Louvre?

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<v Speaker 1>Already and this this is the Daily.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the Daily OS.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, now it makes sense.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty fourth of October. I'm Billy fitz Simons.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Emma Gillespie.

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<v Speaker 2>One hundred and fifty seven million Australian dollars. That's the

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<v Speaker 2>value of the jewelry stolen from the world's most visited museum,

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<v Speaker 2>the Louver in Paris last Sunday. All up, the heist

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<v Speaker 2>took less than ten minutes, and it was all done

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<v Speaker 2>in broad daylight with visitors in the museum, in a

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<v Speaker 2>story that resembles a Hollywood movie. Today we're breaking down

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<v Speaker 2>what really happened and how thieves pulled off a heist

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<v Speaker 2>that's left authorities stunned and raised serious questions about security

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<v Speaker 2>at the Louver.

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<v Speaker 1>Billy, I am so excited that we are talking about

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<v Speaker 1>this story. As you said, reads like the plot of

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<v Speaker 1>a Hollywood movie. Think Ocean's Eleven Oceans eight, The Italian Job,

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<v Speaker 1>Mission Impossible. Every highst movie in the world in history

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<v Speaker 1>is a screenplay for what has actually happened in real

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<v Speaker 1>life in Paris this week. It feels almost unbelievable. That

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<v Speaker 1>it's twenty twenty five and something like this is making headlines.

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<v Speaker 1>But where do we even begin? Where do you want

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<v Speaker 1>to begin with this story?

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<v Speaker 2>I think what's amazing is that it does sound like

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<v Speaker 2>it's from a Hollywood movie, but significantly like lower tech,

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<v Speaker 2>Like it's not. They're not coming out of ceilings. This

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<v Speaker 2>whole story starts with a ladder, just a normal ladder

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<v Speaker 2>that you would find.

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<v Speaker 1>On a street.

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<v Speaker 2>It's unbelievable picture this. It's nine thirty am on Sunday

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<v Speaker 2>morning in Paris. The doors to the Louver have been

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<v Speaker 2>open to the public for about thirty minutes at this stage,

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<v Speaker 2>the public of air to see things like the Mona Lisa,

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<v Speaker 2>the most famous painting in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, this is one of the most iconic and instantly

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<v Speaker 1>recognizable museums in the entire world. Yes, a Sunday morning

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<v Speaker 1>at this time of year in Paris, at this museum,

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<v Speaker 1>it must have been heaving.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, so many tourists.

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<v Speaker 1>Anyone who has been to the Louver who's listening will know,

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<v Speaker 1>any time of day, any time of year, it is

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely packed.

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<v Speaker 2>I was actually just there a month ago, but we

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<v Speaker 2>don't have time for that. Back to this story, so

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<v Speaker 2>where were you on the surturday? At ninth Okay, so

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<v Speaker 2>it's nine point thirty am. A truck pulls up about

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred and eighty meters away from the main entrance.

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<v Speaker 2>That truck has some mechanical ladders which it mounts, which

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<v Speaker 2>the thieves mount to one of the windows on the

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<v Speaker 2>second floor. Now at this stage, no one has noticed

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<v Speaker 2>anything out of the ordinary as far as we know.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so it's business as usual.

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<v Speaker 2>Business as usual. Those kinds of ladders that they mounted

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<v Speaker 2>are quite common in Paris to be able to get

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<v Speaker 2>bigger items into small apartments in Paris, especially ones that

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<v Speaker 2>aren't on the first floor. I guess it just it

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<v Speaker 2>really blended in Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm kind of imagining almost like a bit of

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<v Speaker 1>a construction site or people just walking past thinking, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>that must be a maintenance guy.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, And so they use this ladder to get access

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<v Speaker 2>to the window on the second floor. They climb up

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<v Speaker 2>the ladder two men. That's two men who are climbing

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<v Speaker 2>up this ladder. We know at least one of the

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<v Speaker 2>men were wearing high vizves, which tells us that they

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<v Speaker 2>were probably trying to look like they were construction workers, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>and they used power tools to break into the window

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<v Speaker 2>and gain access to the gallery.

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<v Speaker 1>It's interesting comparing this to the Hollywood Hihst films where

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<v Speaker 1>you're thinking, you know, Balaclava's black turtlenecks. But it's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of almost I guess ingenius. Obviously we're not endorsing crime,

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<v Speaker 1>but if I walked past people in high viers, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess I would not have cause to question. No. So

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<v Speaker 1>we've used these to scale to the second floor, open

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<v Speaker 1>the windows with power tools. How long has that taken?

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<v Speaker 1>And then what happens?

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<v Speaker 2>So it's about four minutes it takes for the truck

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<v Speaker 2>to roll up, the ladder to be mounted, and for

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<v Speaker 2>them to climb up it. One thing to note is

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<v Speaker 2>that the French authorities have confirmed that the galley's windows

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<v Speaker 2>are not reinforced. Now you might be thinking, what does

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<v Speaker 2>that mean. I've never heard of windows being reinforced. What

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<v Speaker 2>I have now learned is that reinforced windows just mean

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<v Speaker 2>that windows have been strengthened with something like metal inserts

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<v Speaker 2>to be more durable and more resistant to breaking. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>these windows were not that they did not have that

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<v Speaker 2>level of security.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, I'm really surprised to hear that because of the

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<v Speaker 1>aforementioned notoriety of this museum and all the valuables it contains,

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<v Speaker 1>that they wouldn't even at least have like a thickened

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<v Speaker 1>type of glass. Also, I'm really struck by the fact

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<v Speaker 1>you said that we're at nine point thirty four now,

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<v Speaker 1>essentially in less than the time it's taken for us

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<v Speaker 1>to get to this point of the podcast. These guys

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<v Speaker 1>are in the building.

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<v Speaker 2>They are in the building.

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<v Speaker 1>Now.

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<v Speaker 2>What is interesting is you might presume that there would

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<v Speaker 2>be security guards inside the building. You are correct in

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<v Speaker 2>thinking that, But what we have learned is that museum

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<v Speaker 2>protocol is that if there are intruders, security guards who

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<v Speaker 2>are unarmed, so they don't have any guns on them

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<v Speaker 2>or anything like that. Yeah, those security guards have been

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<v Speaker 2>told that they should evacuate the room and usher visitors

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<v Speaker 2>to safety. And so that's exactly what happened. Once the

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<v Speaker 2>security guards saw the intruders, they left the room. Wow.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so the process at the loover is intruder spotted.

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<v Speaker 1>Security guards are ordered to prioritize the safety of the.

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<v Speaker 2>Visitors exactly because they don't have anything on them to

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<v Speaker 2>protect themselves and to protect visitors, and they also don't

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<v Speaker 2>know if the intruders have weapons on them.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, I wonder if the thieves knew that, if they

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<v Speaker 1>were kind of clued into the protocol for security guards.

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<v Speaker 2>Most likely. I think everything that I've read is that

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<v Speaker 2>authorities believe that these were very experienced criminal members.

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<v Speaker 1>So we have scaled the building, we're in the room.

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<v Speaker 1>The security guards have cleared out, which also takes care

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<v Speaker 1>of the tourists and visitors looking at the art and

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<v Speaker 1>objects in the room. Where do the thieves go next?

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<v Speaker 2>So the thieves then go straight to the metal cabinets

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<v Speaker 2>where the jewels are being held. They use angle grinders. Again,

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't know what those were.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you classic construction site instrument. If you don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what an angle grinder looks like, you certainly know what

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<v Speaker 1>it sounds like.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, it's an electrical tool that they basically use to

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<v Speaker 2>just slice through the cabinet. The thieves went through two cabinets,

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<v Speaker 2>they grabbed nine jewels, and then they left. Now, the

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<v Speaker 2>breaking into the cabinets also triggered some alarms. One thing

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<v Speaker 2>to mention, which is kind of a side note, and

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<v Speaker 2>we don't really have too many details about this, But

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<v Speaker 2>we know that the alarms at the louver were recently

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<v Speaker 2>broken and we think they were fixed, but there could

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<v Speaker 2>have been some issues. We don't know how widely the

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<v Speaker 2>alarms were heard when they did go off, but they

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<v Speaker 2>are investigating that because there could have been an issue

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<v Speaker 2>with the alarms.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so everything you've told me so far does not

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<v Speaker 1>exactly paint a picture of a maximum security environment. It

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<v Speaker 1>feels like a couple of things lined up almost perfectly

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<v Speaker 1>for this robbery.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, and it has led to many questions about the

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<v Speaker 2>security at literally the world's most famous museum and how

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<v Speaker 2>this possibly could have happened like this. Another thing to

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<v Speaker 2>note is that the security guards actually refuse to work

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<v Speaker 2>the next day after this happened because they were so

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<v Speaker 2>concerned about their own security and they said to the

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<v Speaker 2>museum that you have to tell us what you're doing

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<v Speaker 2>to reinforce our own security during this.

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<v Speaker 1>And I guess, with this story capturing international attention in

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<v Speaker 1>the way that it has, it was highly publicized, you

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<v Speaker 1>could be concerned if you worked there that that was

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<v Speaker 1>going to maybe inspire copycat behavior or attempts at threatening

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<v Speaker 1>the safety of visitors and stuff at Axum Okay, but

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<v Speaker 1>at this stage in the heist, the thieves have the jewels.

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<v Speaker 1>That's all happened very quickly. I do want to quickly

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<v Speaker 1>just mention the jewels that they have taken are the

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<v Speaker 1>French Crown jewels. They come from a collection that dates

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<v Speaker 1>back to the Napoleon era. Priceless, priceless gems. You might

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<v Speaker 1>have seen some of the images, you know, a beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>necklace dripping in huge emeralds, exactly the kind of storybook

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<v Speaker 1>royal family jewelry that you're probably imagining. So they've stashed

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<v Speaker 1>all of that, and that's happened quickly, and then they

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<v Speaker 1>get out.

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<v Speaker 2>Then they get out. The whole thing takes three minutes

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<v Speaker 2>and fifty seven seconds, so there's no faffing about. They

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<v Speaker 2>get the jewels and they leave. Once the thieves leave,

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<v Speaker 2>they actually tried to light their ladder and their truck

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<v Speaker 2>on fire, but at this point the security guards had

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<v Speaker 2>returned and chased them away, and so they didn't have

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<v Speaker 2>time to do that. They tried, but it didn't work.

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<v Speaker 1>What comes next you will have to wait and find out.

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<v Speaker 1>After a quick word from today's sponsor. Okay, Billy, the

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<v Speaker 1>thieves have the precious priceless jewels. But their getaway plan

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<v Speaker 1>has been foiled because by the time they get out

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<v Speaker 1>of their obviously the alarm has been well and truly raised.

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<v Speaker 1>The heaters on the security are pursuing them. So how

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<v Speaker 1>did they actually get away if the plan with the

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<v Speaker 1>truck filed.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, so at this point they are on the ground

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<v Speaker 2>now and they have two high powered scooters waiting for them,

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<v Speaker 2>two other people helping them assisting them. They are on

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<v Speaker 2>the scooters. These two men with the jewels get on

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<v Speaker 2>the back of the scooters and they leave.

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<v Speaker 1>Like vesper scooters.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, but think more high powers.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so this is literally the Italian.

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<v Speaker 2>Job, Yes, which is a movie I just recently watched.

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<v Speaker 1>Ago. They're not helping with your alibi, Bili, Okay, so

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<v Speaker 1>they get away.

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<v Speaker 2>They get away. However, they did drop one of the jewels,

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<v Speaker 2>which was a crown made of golden emeralds with more

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<v Speaker 2>than one three hundred diamonds. So in the hurry of

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<v Speaker 2>getting away, they dropped that and security guards found the

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<v Speaker 2>crown broken outside the museum. That alone is worth several

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<v Speaker 2>tens of millions of euros.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't believe they dropped it. I can't believe it broke.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, So this whole thing didn't go down perfectly, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>between not being able to light the ladder on fire

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<v Speaker 2>to dropping this jewel, it didn't go exactly perfectly. Another

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<v Speaker 2>thing that is intro is the thieves left behind one

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<v Speaker 2>diamond worth sixty million US dollars, and authorities have been

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<v Speaker 2>really confused by that. They don't know why they left

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<v Speaker 2>behind this particular diamond. It's a massive, massive diamond. But

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<v Speaker 2>all the ones they did take, which like you said,

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<v Speaker 2>they are from the nineteenth century, they are worn by

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<v Speaker 2>French royalty, they have huge historical value, but they also

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<v Speaker 2>of course have huge financial value. It just came out

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<v Speaker 2>yesterday that everything they did take is worth all together

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<v Speaker 2>and estimated eighty eight million euros, which is about one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and fifty seven million Australian dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a lot of money. I think it's really interesting

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<v Speaker 1>they left that one iconic Regent diamond behind. I have

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<v Speaker 1>heard experts suggesting that the thieves were not interested really

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<v Speaker 1>in the historical value of these pieces. It would be

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly hard for them to sell them in their current

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<v Speaker 1>state because they are so recognized.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, that's another thing that is really interesting and why

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<v Speaker 2>authorities really have a race against time now because they're

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<v Speaker 2>not expecting that the thieves will now just resell, or

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<v Speaker 2>not resell, but will now go on to sell any

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<v Speaker 2>of these jewels. They believe that they will melt the

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<v Speaker 2>gold and silver down and then recut them, which will

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<v Speaker 2>of course get rid of the historical value, but will

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<v Speaker 2>mean that they can resell the jewelry and you won't

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<v Speaker 2>be able to recognize that it is these ones that

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<v Speaker 2>were stolen from the loof.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. And if you look at the size of some

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<v Speaker 1>of the stones in this collection, one of them alone

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<v Speaker 1>could be cut down into tens, if not hundreds of

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<v Speaker 1>other smaller pieces, like you know, take one big sapphire,

0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:47.560
<v Speaker 1>turn it into fifty odd rings. And for people in

0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.880
<v Speaker 1>this field, even the highest experts in this kind of

0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:57.040
<v Speaker 1>collection could not recognize a nineteenth century Napoleonic gem in

0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.480
<v Speaker 1>a different form like they suggest these thieves are interested

0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:01.040
<v Speaker 1>in doing.

0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:04.400
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, authorities do hope that they will be able to

0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:07.720
<v Speaker 2>find the criminals in time to be able to get

0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.760
<v Speaker 2>them before anything like that happens. French President Manuel Macron

0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:15.120
<v Speaker 2>has vowed authorities will recover the works, but I think

0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.959
<v Speaker 2>a lot of people and a lot of experts are

0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.240
<v Speaker 2>doubtful that they will ever see these jewels again.

0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.839
<v Speaker 1>Do you know, belie if investigators have any lead, how

0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:27.760
<v Speaker 1>are they approaching this task now?

0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.160
<v Speaker 2>We have no information about that. As far as we know,

0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.880
<v Speaker 2>they don't have any leads. Perhaps they do when they're

0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.560
<v Speaker 2>just not telling the public and the media. Officials have

0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:39.960
<v Speaker 2>said that there are sixty investigators working on this case.

0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.600
<v Speaker 2>They are questioning witnesses, going through all the footage from

0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:48.400
<v Speaker 2>surveillance cameras, but they have no idea as far as

0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:51.839
<v Speaker 2>we know where they fled to. They do believe, as

0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:55.199
<v Speaker 2>you can imagine, that this was a very experienced team

0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.400
<v Speaker 2>of criminals. Yep, but that's kind of.

0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:02.200
<v Speaker 1>All we know. And I heard has been closed ever

0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:03.760
<v Speaker 1>since this happened. Is that true?

0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:06.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So the time of recording, it still has not

0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:10.079
<v Speaker 2>opened again and we don't know when it will open again.

0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:14.360
<v Speaker 1>Wow. This is a fascinating story, so many repercussions. I'm

0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.680
<v Speaker 1>sure the internal security at the LOUVER will be reviewing

0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:21.680
<v Speaker 1>things with enormous interest, and I'm sure, you know, maybe

0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:25.680
<v Speaker 1>there'll be more questions to come about funding, etc. How

0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.960
<v Speaker 1>the museum is being managed more broadly and maybe the

0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:30.840
<v Speaker 1>government will have more to say on that in the

0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:31.760
<v Speaker 1>days or weeks to come.

0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:33.160
<v Speaker 2>I'm sure they will.

0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.120
<v Speaker 1>Billy, thank you so much for taking us through that

0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:40.840
<v Speaker 1>fascinating story. I look forward to the Netflix dramatization in

0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.680
<v Speaker 1>the years to come, and thank you for listening to

0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.080
<v Speaker 1>today's episode. We'll be back a little bit later on

0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:49.160
<v Speaker 1>in the day with your afternoon news headlines, but until then,

0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:51.680
<v Speaker 1>have a good one.

0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:56.720
<v Speaker 2>My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda

0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:01.760
<v Speaker 2>Bungelung Caalcultin woman from Gadigal country. The Daily oz acknowledges

0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:03.960
<v Speaker 2>that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the

0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:07.640
<v Speaker 2>Gadigal people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and torrest

0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:08.760
<v Speaker 2>Rate island and nations.

0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:12.000
<v Speaker 1>We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries,

0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:13.320
<v Speaker 1>both past and present.