The Apollo Gallery, where thieves took eight French crown jewels, will remain closed ‘for some time’, a spokeswoman for the institution said.
The Museum of em reopened its doors this Wednesday (22), three days after the spectacular theft of eight Crown jewels, valued at more than 100 million dollars (538 million reais). At 9:00 am local time (4:00 am Brasília time), the usual opening time of the museum, the most visited in the world, the first visitors began to enter the institution. The Apolo Gallery, from where the jewels were stolen, remains closed, the museum told AFP.
The police continue to look for the four criminals who carried out the robbery on Sunday morning at the gallery. The thieves parked a crane on one of the museum’s facades, two of them climbed to the first floor of the museum and, using a circular saw, entered the room through a window. With their faces covered, they stole nine jewels, including a pearl tiara from Empress Eugênia and a set of sapphire necklace and earrings from Queen Maria Amélia. During the escape, one of the pieces, a crown, was abandoned.
The robbery, which lasted just eight minutes, made headlines around the world and sparked new criticism about the lack of security in the city’s museums. .
*With information from AFP
