After months of near radio silence, two suspects held in pre-trial detention have revealed more information about their role in facilitating the Louvre Museum jewelry heist that shocked the world last October.
The French newspaper Le Monde reviewed transcripts of two interview sessions from June amid the ongoing judicial inquiry, during which one of the two men stated that the “mastermind” who allegedly hired them for the job “thought we could have taken more.”
The accounts come from two residents of the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers: Abdoulaye N, a 40-year-old man locally known for his online presence as a motorcycle stunt enthusiast, and Ghelamallah A, a 36-year-old Algerian man reportedly suffering from Diogenes syndrome. Both men were arrested in late October, about a week after the heist, and “partially admitted” to their involvement in the scheme.
Per Le Monde’s review of the interviews, Abdoulaye said he was promised €15,000 to €20,000 (~$17,000–$22,700) as his base for facilitating the heist, and admitted that he knew it would take place at the Louvre. Ghelamallah, who alleged that he was contracted for about €5,000 more than Abdoulaye’s rate, said that the opportunity was presented to him as “a jewelry store where they make jewelry in Paris,” adding that “I would never have set foot there if I had known.”
Neither of the men would provide any further information about the person or entity that contracted them to carry out the heist, for fear of retaliation against them or their families. Abdoulaye said that while he hasn’t been threatened specifically, he has received phone calls warning him to keep quiet while detained.
However, both suspects jointly claim that the “mastermind” of the plan was also a direct participant.
“The person who ordered the theft wasn’t happy,” Abdoulaye claimed regarding the haul they made off with — seven pieces of jewelry comprising France’s crown jewels, valued at approximately €88 million (~$100.2 million). “He thought we could have taken more. We had wasted time coming back in through the window.”
Based on Le Monde‘s review, both men were instructed to meet with two unnamed accomplices in Aubervilliers on the morning of October 19, equipped with a cherry picker truck and two motorcycles. Abdoulaye explained that he drove the truck to the museum and lined it up with the balcony exterior of the Apollo Gallery, and that he and Ghelamallah ascended via cherry picker and broke into the museum while the other two men remained on the ground.
“When we got in, there was no one there, it was dark, only the display case lights were on,” he continued. “In the distance, I could see security moving around, behind a door, or something. (…) Then, using the angle grinder, I smashed the windows, removed what was inside. (…) I’ve done worse than that; all I had to do was make a trapdoor.”
Abdoulaye also admitted that he was the one who dropped Empress Eugénie’s crown from his bag during their escape.
“What we did wasn’t right, it’s very serious,” he said after investigators showed him a photo of the badly damaged crown. “Luckily I’m not suicidal, otherwise I would have killed myself.”
The two men said they escaped the grounds using the motorcycles after pouring gasoline on the cherry picker truck, and another relay vehicle was available to collect the group of four. Abdoulaye, who reportedly carried all the jewelry, alleged that he was brought to a garage in Aubervilliers, where he handed off the loot to his client.
Neither he nor Ghelamallah has any inkling of the fate of the jewels, which remain at large. “I have admitted my involvement,” Abdoulaye said at the end of one of the questioning sessions. “I accept the consequences and I regret it. The rest (…) is beyond me.”
