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Two men accused of pulling off one of the most audacious art thefts in modern history have told investigators they only learned of the plan days before they carried it out – and that one of them had no idea he was about to rob the world’s most visited museum.
According to Le Monde, which reviewed records of interrogation hearings held in June, suspects Abdoulaye N. and Ghelamallah A. gave their most detailed account yet of the operation that stripped the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon of eight pieces of French crown jewellery on 19 October 2025.
The newspaper reports that the pair, Abdoulaye N. and Ghelamallah A., told investigating judges they had been recruited by an unnamed organiser just days before the operation and promised between €15,000 and €25,000 for their role.
The client showed them video footage of the gallery in advance and instructed them to smash display cases and take as much jewellery as possible. The mission, as Abdoulaye N. described it, was clear: “Break windows and retrieve jewellery from inside the display cases.”
“I knew I was going to rob the Louvre,” Abdoulaye N. admitted. Ghelamallah A., meanwhile, claimed he thought they were targeting “a jewellery store where they make jewellery in Paris” rather than the world’s most visited museum.
The thieves entered the Louvre gallery at approximately 09:30 local timeusing a boom lift disguised as maintenance work, before cutting into display cases with power tools.
“When we got in, there was no one there, it was dark, only the lights in the display cases were on,” Abdoulaye N. recalled. “In the distance, I could see security moving around, behind a door, or something.”
Within eight minutes, they escaped on motorbikes with a haul valued at roughly €88 million, including tiaras, necklaces, earrings and brooches once worn by French queens and empresses. During the getaway, the Crown of Empress Eugénie was dropped and later recovered near the museum.
The remaining jewels, the pair say, were handed over to the alleged organiser shortly afterwards – who was reportedly unimpressed with the take. “He thought we could have taken more,” Abdoulaye N. said.
Neither man has told investigators who that organiser is. Both cite fear of reprisals. “They’re no choirboys,” Ghelamallah A. told investigators. “I wasn’t threatened, but I received calls from outside [while in detention]. They told me to keep quiet.”