Pod Insights Crime Weekly S3 Ep355: Several Arrested for Jewelry Heist at the Louvre About this episode Investigators have announced the arrests in connection with the recent heist at Louvre Museum in Paris, where thieves stole eight pieces of the French crown jewels valued at around €88 million. Authorities warned the stolen jewels could be dismantled before recovery and confirmed the museum’s security systems had critical blind spots. Try our coffee!! - www. CriminalCoffeeCo.comBecome a Patreon member -- > ｿ https://www.patreon.com/CrimeWeeklyShop for your Crime Weekly gear here --> ｿ https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shopYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrimeWeeklyPodcastWebsite: CrimeWeeklyPodcast.comInstagram: @CrimeWeeklyPodTwitter: @CrimeWeeklyPodFacebook: @CrimeWeeklyPodADS:1. https://www. JonesRoadBeauty.com - Use code CRIMEWEEKLY for a FREE cool gloss with your first purchase!
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:13 Derrick Levasseur? Hey everyone, welcome back to Crime Weekly News. I'm Derrick Levasseur.
0:17 Stephanie Harlowe? And I'm Stephanie Harlow.
0:19 Derrick Levasseur? So, earlier this month, one of the most secure and heavily guarded museums in the world, the Louvre in Paris, was hit by a major jewel heist. On the morning of October 19th, a group of thieves managed to break into the Apollo Gallery, where the museum keeps France's royal and imperial jewels. They used what police described as a mechanical lift to access a window on the upper level, smashed through display cases, and got out in less than eight minutes. Damn, that's impressive. The pieces they took weren't just valuable, they were historic. We're talking about diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires that once belonged to French empresses and queens. The total value is estimated at around 88 million euros. And what's that, what's that in US currency? Do we know?
1:02 Stephanie Harlowe? I think it's like almost 100 million dollars.
1:06 Derrick Levasseur? Hundred million dollars. So, yeah, lot of money.
1:10 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah.
1:10 Derrick Levasseur? French authorities have arrested several suspects, seven so far to be exact, and the Paris prosecutor, Laurie Bacau, is leading the investigation. But as of now, none of the jewels have been recovered. Tonight, we're going to be breaking down how the theft happened, what's known about the suspects, and why the investigators think it wasn't just a smash and grab, but a highly coordinated operation, which I think just from that intro, yeah, we can all agree, they didn't just think about this from a window and say, hey, you know what, we're going to break into that today. They put some thought into this. This is Ocean's Eleven.
1:41 Stephanie Harlowe? They weren't walking by the Louvre saying like, you know, it's a good day to, you know, grab some jewels. No. And I mean, you say how expensive these things are, right? 88 million euros, but in reality, they're priceless. They're priceless based on who they belong to, how long they've been there, just their place in history and... You know, some people might say, oh, this isn't a true crime that we're used to. It's not, I suppose, but here's the thing, we're covering BTK right now. That's pretty messed up, okay? We need something a little lighter where people aren't being tortured and killed to talk about for Crime Weekly News this week. Everyone knows I love history. I'm really into this kind of stuff.
2:24 Stephanie Harlowe? And I think both Derek and I kind of like this whole, I don't know, DB Cooper element to, to the heist.
2:30 Derrick Levasseur? I mean, it is true crime. I mean, it is a crime.
2:32 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, it's a very crime.
2:34 Derrick Levasseur? And you bring up a great point because it's not just about the intrinsic value, right? Like, yes, that's important, but that can be replaced, but whether it's through insurance or whatever it's going to be. But the fact is, like you just said, these items, even if they weren't diamonds or emeralds or whatever else was taken, there's historical value in there that you can't replace. You need to find the original items in with something like this. We're talking about 88 million euros, but I have to imagine that in, in size, and I could be wrong on this, if it was just jewels and emeralds, they took that for a reason because it's small in size and everything we're talking about here probably could have been stuffed into one duffel bag.
3:14 Stephanie Harlowe? Oh, oh, for sure. But yeah, I mean, it's crowns, it's, you know, brooches.
3:19 Derrick Levasseur? Maybe a couple of duffel bags, but overall, very hard to find. And, and the fact that they haven't found any of it yet, and it's not like there's a serial number on it. They can't really scan it in somewhere where they could track it. But I would like to think that if someone's out there trying to pawn off a crown, they're going to get a phone call.
3:36 Stephanie Harlowe? No, you'd think, and people have said that, people have said like, who would steal this? Like, there's, there's no point, where are they going to find a buyer for it?
3:44 Derrick Levasseur? There's already a buyer.
3:45 Stephanie Harlowe? Oh, there's already a buyer.
3:47 Derrick Levasseur? There's already a buyer.
3:48 Stephanie Harlowe? Like, it's not just in movies. There's like extremely wealthy people outside of our understanding what wealthy even is, who are out there that have rooms in their homes that are like vaulted locked, locked up safes that are not seen by the people who come into their home. And it's almost like this trophy room of things they have that are illicit and they shouldn't have them. And they don't need to show them off. They just need to know that they have them. Already a buyer or these people wouldn't be there.
4:15 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, no doubt about it. Have you seen that movie Contraband with Mark Wahlberg?
4:19 Stephanie Harlowe? I probably have, yeah.
4:20 Derrick Levasseur? Okay, so he's like a smuggler. He's like a professional smuggler and it's it's the same premises there where he develops these elaborate plans, these heists to steal something of value. Knowing he can sell it on the black market and in some instances already having a buyer. So that's the concern here, right? Like they if they went to this length, having this mechanical lift, which by the way, we'll throw up the video right here. You can see it as we're talking. It's pretty extensive what they did here. And so if they went to this extreme, they already knew that the items they were they were stealing were going to be very noticeable to the general public. So it's probably already out of Paris and somewhere other some other part of the world.
4:58 Derrick Levasseur? Like you said, in some kingpins collection that will never see the light of day, or by the time it's seen by anyone, it'll be a hundred years from now.
5:06 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, I mean, especially with Europe, they could just hop on a speedboat and be in a different country within an hour. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit more about this, why it's so important. And what the the authorities think. So when people think of the Louvre, they picture the Mona Lisa or the glass pyramid out front, but the Apollo Gallery is something else entirely. It's a piece of history in itself. It was built in the sixteen hundreds under King Louis XIV, the son king, to celebrate the divine right of French monarchs. Gold leaf ceilings, painted gods, carved sons. It's all about opulence and power. And inside that room, surrounded by art that glorifies royal lineage, the French crown jewels were displayed. Most of these pieces survived
5:50 Stephanie Harlowe? everything, revolutions, wars, the fall of empires. What's wild is that these thieves didn't go for anything modern or random. They went straight for the jewelry that represented dynasty, the empresses, the queens, the women who embodied legitimacy and empire. And that's why a lot of people are saying this heist feels intentional. The symbolism of what was stolen and what wasn't. It kind of tells a story. So let's walk through the timeline. Sunday morning, October nineteenth, the museum isn't open to the public yet. Sometime before nine AM, security cameras pick up what looks like an Vehicle parked near the Sien side of the Louvre, the side facing the Quai des Toulers.
6:30 Stephanie Harlowe? So investigators say the thieves used that lift to access a second floor window that led directly into the Apollo Gallery. They broke the glass, forced entry, and smashed several display cases. Alarms were triggered almost immediately, but because the break-in happened from the outside facade, response time was slower than if it had been an internal motion sensor. The Louvre actually has more than 2,000 cameras, but prosecutors have since admitted that there were blind spots on that exterior side. And what does that tell me? That somebody who's familiar with the Louvre, with their security cameras and with the placement of the security cameras, knew where those blind spots were.
7:12 Stephanie Harlowe? So the thieves grabbed eight specific pieces, packed them up, and escaped in what officials believe was under eight minutes. Witnesses reported seeing two scooters leaving the area soon after. Later that day, the museum shut down part of the wing for forensic work. They found DNA, gloves, and helmets at the scene. Within 48 hours, French police had begun cross-referencing the DNA hits with known offenders. A week later, on October 26th, two men in their 30s were arrested in Sienne Saint-Denis, a suburb northeast of Paris. One of them was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport, reportedly trying to board a flight out of France. Both men have prior criminal records. They were held on charges of organized gang theft and criminal conspiracy. Now, after those first arrests, things started to move fast.
7:57 Stephanie Harlowe? By October 29th, Paris prosecutor Laura Bacau announced that both men had partially admitted their involvement, which is kind of fascinating. That usually means they're confirming parts of the operation without giving up the full picture, like who financed it or where the jewels actually are. But even with those admissions, the jewels themselves have not been recovered. And that's when authorities brought in 100 investigators to dig deeper. The next day, October 30th, five more people were arrested in coordinated raids around Paris. One of them had DNA evidence directly linking him to the scene. called it a commando team suggesting that there were multiple roles the lift operator
8:39 Stephanie Harlowe? the entry team the lookouts and possibly a handler or a fence waiting to move the jewels prosecutors also said there's no evidence that anyone inside the Louvre helped them at least not yet but they
8:50 Derrick Levasseur? not yet
8:50 Stephanie Harlowe? yeah well also once again I want to go back to the fact that 2000 cameras the Louvre has and this is public information you can kind of look it up and see hey does the Louvre have surveillance and they'll say yeah the Louvre has over 2000 cameras it doesn't tell you where they are and I'm sure publicly you would not be able to find out where the blind spots on the exterior of the Louvre are as far as security cameras go
9:11 Derrick Levasseur? you'd have to be within the security branch of the Louvre
9:14 Stephanie Harlowe? or know somebody who is aware of that
9:17 Derrick Levasseur? yeah
9:17 Stephanie Harlowe? somebody from inside the Louvre you know
9:20 Derrick Levasseur? can we stop for a second and not skate over the fact that you said 100 investigators is that correct was that a was that a did you misspeak there
9:30 Stephanie Harlowe? no this is very this is very serious to the people of France yeah
9:33 Derrick Levasseur? it is serious and maybe I'm just being that guy right now and you guys can all eye roll me if you'd like but there is a small part of me that gets pissed when I hear that
9:44 Stephanie Harlowe? where you're like how much other crime is happening in the streets of Paris right now while these 100 investigators are trying to find some jewels
9:50 Derrick Levasseur? I wasn't even thinking that but it's like
9:52 Stephanie Harlowe? I did
9:53 Derrick Levasseur? nobody got hurt here right nobody was killed how many investigators are assigned when someone gets murdered or when a child is abducted you get what I'm saying
10:03 Stephanie Harlowe? yeah well it's pretty much what I was thinking too it's because
10:05 Derrick Levasseur? I just I don't know again I I feel like I'm eye rolling myself a little bit like oh man Derek but like it's tough to get a group of people together when there's a someone who's been killed or or taken but when it comes to money all hands on deck and I know there is a historical value there but again
10:23 Stephanie Harlowe? I don't think it's the money so much even the prosecutor said yeah the monetary damage is massive but the historical damage is even greater
10:32 Derrick Levasseur? I get it, but it's still like, what if, how about all those children out there who have been through something and need justice? Like if they had 100 investigators work in that case, would they solve it? Probably.
10:42 Stephanie Harlowe? And Paris is a very crime-ridden city, let's be honest.
10:45 Derrick Levasseur? Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox. I just saw her, I heard that and I was like, wow, it's amazing how when there's a dollar amount attached to it, how many people come out of the woodwork, but I know, again, there's a historical, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
10:58 Stephanie Harlowe? I mean, I'm sure that not everyone in Paris or even in France feels the same way. And, you know, there's a huge push against monarchy and all things that are connected to monarchy. That's a more modern kind of take and feel on, on the history of, of these countries that used to have kings and queens. I get it, but a lot of people in Paris and France, they, they don't look at the jewels as just like expensive bling. They are physical links to France's past and stealing them feels like stealing part of their national story. And so I, I totally get it. I mean,
11:30 Derrick Levasseur? I get it, I get it. Well, before you continue, let's take a break because there is more to cover. And I want to talk about how do we get the jewels back?
11:37 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, yeah. Well, I don't think we're gonna get the jewels back, but,
11:39 Derrick Levasseur? Maybe, we're gonna talk about it.
11:45 Stephanie Harlowe? Okay, we're back. So like I had said before the break, the police have said they don't have evidence that anyone inside the Louvre helped this group of people who performed the heist. But they have not ruled out the possibility that someone passed on information about the gallery layout or the alarm schedule, which to me, the fact that they knew about the blind spots suggests, you know, even if it's not directly that,
12:12 Derrick Levasseur? They had some intel.
12:13 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah. So at this point, investigators think that whoever planned this wasn't just after profits. These were high-profile imperial pieces, instantly recognizable. Now, there's speculation that the theft might have been commissioned, meaning someone with money and access wanted, Yeah, and I, I'm kind of, I, I'm kind of on that vein of belief. I do think that. But others think it could be ideological, a statement about France's colonial and aristocratic past or about the ownership of cultural heritage. That's still just by, But it's part of why authorities believe the motive might go beyond financial gain. Also, the timing, the heist happened during a weekend maintenance window when the Louvre had limited staff in that section.
12:53 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, but nobody, but nobody at the Louvre is involved.
12:56 Stephanie Harlowe? They said they don't have evidence of that.
12:58 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, there you go.
12:58 Stephanie Harlowe? But I think, once again, that's indirect evidence that whoever planned it knew these things.
13:03 Derrick Levasseur? Even if it was just one of them having a boyfriend or girlfriend that worked there. You know, and they were just dating them for this reason to gain information, who knows?
13:11 Stephanie Harlowe? Yes, and this isn't just about a theft, it's almost performance art. You don't risk that kind of exposure for something that you can't necessarily just sell to anybody. So it's almost about possession, having something no one else can ever have again. And that's why I do think it could be one of these very wealthy people around the world somewhere who just
13:32 Derrick Levasseur? Just unlimited money.
13:33 Stephanie Harlowe? Were bored, yeah, like bored and like, oh, I want this thing that nobody else can ever have.
13:37 Derrick Levasseur? Think about all the paintings and stuff that have been taken over the years. I remember there was a big heist in Boston, those paintings have never been recovered. And it's because they're in someone's private collection somewhere where these uber rich people get together and it's like, hey, wanna see something cool?
13:51 Stephanie Harlowe? And I think like sometimes for highly valuable or historical paintings, they will put up like decoys almost.
14:00 Derrick Levasseur? Well, I was gonna, okay, I was gonna save this for the end when you got through the whole exposition here. But how funny would it be if we found out, which I don't think it's the case, they wouldn't put 100 investigators on it. If it was just a counterfeit, like a fake piece.
14:12 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, like a decoy.
14:13 Derrick Levasseur? That was made to look, a dupe, if you will. I've heard, I don't know how true it is, but a lot of the paintings that you do see in these museums are replicas.
14:21 Stephanie Harlowe? I've heard that too, yeah. Like the Mona Lisa, I don't think the Mona Lisa is the real Mona Lisa. People have tried to take that, people have tried to take that painting a million times.
14:28 Derrick Levasseur? That's what people say, like, and not even about theft, you also think about someone walking up to it. And I've never seen them, maybe it's encased, but damaging these pieces, right? Like just someone trying to make a political statement, goes in there and throws paint on it.
14:41 Stephanie Harlowe? I've seen that, yeah.
14:41 Derrick Levasseur? Something like that where they have to plan for those things. And I would imagine that if you can find an exact replica where unless you're an expert and you have it under a microscope, you can tell the difference. You would keep the real pieces within the facility, but in a protected area where they can't be damaged or stolen.
14:57 Stephanie Harlowe? Mm-hmm, oh, yeah.
14:59 Derrick Levasseur? I wouldn't be mad at that, it would suck to know that you're looking at something that isn't the actual one, but. At the same time, I'd rather that happen than you find out that someone stole it. It's in their basement now and you're never gonna see it again.
15:11 Stephanie Harlowe? I, I agree. And I mean, I think that if something is specifically targeted multiple times, like the Mona Lisa, and it's kind of just like, okay, history is repeating itself. A lot of people have tried to steal this painting over time. Let's just cut our losses, have a really good fake made. And, and put, I think that was part of the Da Vinci Code where I feel like I've watched a movie like that where somebody stole the Mona Lisa and then it ended up being a counterfeit Mona Lisa.
15:37 Derrick Levasseur? I wouldn't, I wouldn't doubt it.
15:38 Stephanie Harlowe? I remember like the Thomas Crown Affair too, like he'd always go into museums and steal the paintings, but he was also like this amazing artist and he could like make the paintings look real so he could replace them and nobody would know that he'd taken it. But this isn't a movie. This is real, even though it feels like a movie. And at this point, what we have is seven suspects who are in custody. The investigations being handled by the Paris Judicial Police under Prosecutor Bacau. The charges are organized gang theft and criminal conspiracy. These are both really serious charges under French law. But despite the arrest, authorities haven't found a single piece of jewelry. And that's the most concerning part because the longer it goes, the more likely that
16:20 Stephanie Harlowe? these jewels have already been broken down or moved out of the country. And I, I even was thinking like some of these crowns and things, could they take the jewels out of the crown? And, and fence them to somebody who wouldn't know better, but who's got that kind of money to pay for, you know, an emerald or a ruby, not knowing the historical significance of it? How, you know, you wouldn't be able to even sell it for as much as you could. And as soon as somebody saw the quality and the age of that, that jewel, they'd know something's not right here, especially with how public this Louvre heist has been. So I feel like the only options are, one, somebody with a ton of money paid for this to happen, commissioned this, or two,
17:05 Stephanie Harlowe? Maybe it was a political statement, but at that point, where would the jewels be? Where would they be hidden? Because obviously, they were not in the possession of any of these suspects arrested. And are these suspects even really involved? You know, we don't know. We don't know what they said to the police. They could, the police could just be arresting people and saying, oh yeah, they're involved just to make it seem like there's progress. I don't know, I don't really trust it. Why would these people just hang out in Paris? Waiting to get arrested? I don't know.
17:34 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, if, if these are people who were involved, a couple of things could happen here. One, I do agree with you. This piece had to be, these pieces had to be commissioned. You wouldn't take these items not knowing if you could move them. And you have to have a buyer in place because you can't just walk into a pawn shop.
17:52 Stephanie Harlowe? That's too much risk to take for nothing.
17:54 Derrick Levasseur? You can't do it, it's gotta, you gotta get rid of it that day. Now, here's the problem. Even if they are involved, if you already had a buyer, this buyer is probably so rich and so powerful that if you snitch, because more than likely, you've already handed the jewels off, if you snitch, you're not making it to court. More than likely, something bad is gonna happen to you.
18:18 Stephanie Harlowe? If they can organize this, they can organize some random dude to be taken out easy.
18:23 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, I mean, they got to, they got to Epstein, right? I mean, a lot of people believe that, they got to Epstein. So if they got to Epstein, they can get to you. And so that's one side of it. The other side is if this is a political statement, then these people are, they're radicalized and they're not, they're gonna go to their graves with it. They could have dumped this stuff in a river somewhere to prove a point, which they've proven nothing, but in their minds, they feel like they've accomplished something bigger than their own freedom and they may just never say it. But there is an off chance, I always say this with a crime, you want to find all the people involved because you're only as strong as your weakest link. And if you have someone who is just the getaway driver, right? You can maybe say to them, hey, listen, you could walk away from this. You could still have a life after this.
19:07 Derrick Levasseur? Where did they last dump them? Or give us a connection, give us a person that you saw, or a car, or a boat, whatever. Give us something because otherwise, you're going down with the conspiracy charge and you're gonna be charged if you went into the building yourself. That's the only shot you have and it's not a good one.
19:25 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I don't see how there's any world that exists where any of these people know enough about the buyer to even give that kind of information. I guarantee you they're just hired hired help who do have skills, obviously. But there's some sort of middle man who they probably don't even know his real name. They probably never even saw his face, right? And and therefore that middle man who may know who the actual buyer is, he can't be identified. So how would the actual buyer ever be identified?
19:57 Derrick Levasseur? I agree. It's not. It's not looking good.
20:00 Stephanie Harlowe? It's not looking good for and even if you figure out who did it or even have a lead on it, what are your chances of recovering these things? Probably very low.
20:12 Derrick Levasseur? Even with 100 investigators?
20:13 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, I was just about to say, which is why maybe, you know, the 100 investigators need to be limited at this point and and sent off to do other work because I feel like you're you're chasing a you're chasing a whale right now that you'll never get. This is the this is their Moby Dick.
20:26 Derrick Levasseur? And that's that's where I go back to the 100 investigators. Like, I mean, I you gotta give it a shot, I guess. I don't know. I don't think they'll have 100 people on it for a very long period of time. But yeah, overall, the amount that went into this, the renting of the lift, the people that had to be involved, the people who had to be paid off paid off to get that information you needed to at least get away with. Listen, they accomplished it. They got the jewels. So this isn't a this is way bigger than seven people. A lot of people-
20:50 Stephanie Harlowe? Eight minutes, seven people, eight minutes. Damn.
20:53 Derrick Levasseur? These are professionals.
20:53 Stephanie Harlowe? Like you said, it's Ocean's Eleven. Yeah.
20:55 Derrick Levasseur? It's Ocean's Eleven. It's the Departed, although they got caught right away. That's not probably the best example.
21:00 Stephanie Harlowe? They're like diving through-
21:01 Derrick Levasseur? Great movie, though.
21:01 Stephanie Harlowe? They're diving through motion sensor lasers.
21:03 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah.
21:04 Stephanie Harlowe? You know, they're like coming down from the ceiling.
21:06 Derrick Levasseur? This is legit. This is definitely legit. So the chances of getting it back are slim to none. The fact that they've caught some people that are allegedly connected to it. It gives you a small hope, but I think we all can agree that more than likely there is a buyer somewhere in another country right now who has those things under lock and key and they're not the least bit concerned because they know that these people know if they say anything, they're dead.
21:30 Stephanie Harlowe? I don't think these people know anything that they could even say anything.
21:33 Derrick Levasseur? There might be one person in the group. You're right. It like they keep it minimal as far as who knows the endpoint to this for this exact reason.
21:41 Stephanie Harlowe? I guarantee you not one of those those seven men know anything about the actual buyer. I guarantee you. Because that's that's way too much of a risk. He that's that person's liability as as those seven men, I wouldn't want to be. I wouldn't want to know shit. Because then when something happens and if I get caught.
22:00 Derrick Levasseur? You've seen my face.
22:01 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, it's like I'm I know I'm done. So I don't want to know who you are at all. But yeah, at the end of the day, I understand putting so many investigators on it early because you could maybe
22:12 Derrick Levasseur? Give it a shot.
22:12 Stephanie Harlowe? trace it. You could maybe catch up a trail. But at this point, now I think we're I think we're we're done.
22:19 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, all I ask is the next time a missing kid is out there somewhere within the first forty eight to seventy two hours, let's put a hundred people on that one as well.
22:25 Stephanie Harlowe? Or maybe even just ten.
22:27 Derrick Levasseur? Ten would be great.
22:28 Stephanie Harlowe? Would be great.
22:28 Derrick Levasseur? Ten percent of what you're putting on, you know, missing jewels.
22:31 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, instead of that, instead of that one investigator that's been on the force for fifty years and everybody knows he takes a three hour lunch break.
22:37 Derrick Levasseur? Who didn't respond to the scene for forty eight hours. We're already outside the seventy two hour window. Yeah, that guy.
22:42 Stephanie Harlowe? He was like, that four year old just left home willingly. What are you talking about? We're we're we're French. We mature early.
22:49 Derrick Levasseur? You're showing you're showing you have the resources when needed. That's the point I'm making. So
22:52 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, I'm with you.
22:53 Derrick Levasseur? I know this conversation is about that. Honestly, horrible situation, but at the same time, it's kind of cool. And I say that in a very careful way. I don't mean it. It's terrible what happened. But this is like you see in the movies. And that's what I mean by cool. It's something where you watch it in the movies and you think, oh, that's cool, although it could never really happen like Ocean's Eleven. But this is a walking, talking, real life version of that.
23:18 Stephanie Harlowe? I I will be, you know, watching it and I understand anybody.
23:21 Derrick Levasseur? I hope they get it back.
23:22 Stephanie Harlowe? I do, too, of course. Of course, I hope they get it back.
23:25 Derrick Levasseur? Or I hope it was all fake and they come out and tell us it was all fake.
23:28 Stephanie Harlowe? Oh, I think there's so much we definitely don't know, like the investigators know, like, oh, if this was such a well protected, important part of the museum, why didn't you have more external security? Why didn't you have like glass break sensors or things like that, you know, so that there was some sort of indication long before they broke the window and got it? Why wouldn't you have windows that you can't break?
23:49 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah.
23:50 Stephanie Harlowe? You know, you got these huge ass windows in the Louvre. This is a very, the Apollo Gallery is very important to France and their history. Why wouldn't you have windows on there you can't break? So there's definitely some some things that the investigators know that we don't that probably makes them look. Not so great.
24:07 Derrick Levasseur? Could have been more prepared. I get what you're saying. Where they're trying to get the jewels back as fast as possible because they don't want to look like assholes.
24:12 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, it's like you could have, you know, maybe paid another a hundred thousand dollars to have that gallery more fortified and now you're out eighty eight million euros. So.
24:19 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, not good. Well, if there's any update, we will let you guys know, but you'll probably know before we even do the update because this is national news at this point.
24:28 Stephanie Harlowe? What if it's someone on the inside?
24:30 Derrick Levasseur? I wouldn't doubt it.
24:30 Stephanie Harlowe? Like someone high up in France who took the jewels and then they made it look like this like elaborate heist.
24:37 Derrick Levasseur? Or it's the investigators themselves.
24:40 Stephanie Harlowe? What if it is the investigator? Did you see?
24:43 Derrick Levasseur? They got them on the inside where they know they're going to be called to investigate it and they've already been paid off not to find them. Or to pin it on people who are the scapegoats who weren't even involved, these seven people. It could be so much deeper than like our heads would explode. If eighty eight million euros, let's go back to it. There's a lot of money involved with this. We don't know how deep this runs.
25:05 Stephanie Harlowe? You could you could finance a war with that.
25:07 Derrick Levasseur? You could finance an effing war with it. And so to think that it's just these guys they hired? No, no, no, no. There's a lot of people whose pockets were lined and it could be anywhere from law enforcement to the Louvre to.
25:20 Stephanie Harlowe? Politics.
25:21 Derrick Levasseur? People in the area, exactly politicians, a lot of this was a very well thought out mission and
25:30 Derrick Levasseur? the likelihood of finding these jewels and these emeralds and these crowns, whatever was taken, slim to none if they did everything they wanted to do and they and if the fact that they went for it in broad daylight, by the way, I mean, you could see these guys coming down this lift tells me that they were not too concerned about being seen.
25:47 Stephanie Harlowe? Mm hmm.
25:48 Derrick Levasseur? So we'll see how it goes. We'll see where it lands. We'll see if there's any updates and if there are, if it's big enough for a crime weekly news, we'll cover it. But if not, another thing that we've been doing, make sure you follow us on social media at crime weekly pod because we'll usually give an update there about something we covered on crime weekly news if it's not enough. For example, the case we talked about a couple of weeks ago where we were pretty pissed off that these young kids that because they were under ten years old, weren't charged with rape and murder. Well, shortly after we covered it, they were charged and we put out updates on our social media. So make sure you're following us there because we're always updating that with information that we've covered here on crime weekly news or crime weekly. Anything else from you, Stephanie?
26:30 Stephanie Harlowe? No, I think I'm good.
26:31 Derrick Levasseur? Okay, we're gonna wrap it up here. We'll see you guys later this week with BTK Part 2. Extensive series, Part 1, you guys really seem to be behind that one. We're gonna go into a lot more details because we left off with the first crime that we know of, that he's at least let us know of. And it's a horrific one and it kind of sets us down a path that is very dark. So we will see you later this week for audio on Friday, YouTube on Sunday. Until then, everyone stay safe out there and we'll see you soon.
27:04 Stephanie Harlowe? Bye.
Previous S3 Ep354: BTK | The Mask of Dennis Rader (Part 1) Next S3 Ep356: BTK | A Name for the Monster (Part 2) Page updated November 1, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated