Heist at the Louvre Episode 2: Hundred-Million-Dollar Questions

James Longman (0:00)

Hi, this is James Longman, back with another episode of the latest True Crime series from ABC Audio and 2020, Heist at the Louvre. Remember, you can listen to the entire series ad free and access so much more from 2020 on Apple podcasts when you subscribe to 2020 True Crime Plus. Just click the link in the description to start your free trial today, terms apply.

And now here's the episode.

SPEAKER_2 (0:24)

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James Longman (0:55)

There's something so spooky about being in a place that's normally crowded with people and finding it almost empty. You feel like a big kid doing something you're not meant to.

I'd heard about the heist hours after it happened on the morning of October 19th, 2025 And I was soon on the train to Paris. Now, you know a story's big when you overhear conversations about it all around you. I remember really clearly an elderly couple near me on the train discussing whether they thought it was an inside job. When I arrived in Paris, the Louvre was still closed to tourists, but I was allowed inside.

It is extraordinary to be inside the Louvre. It is completely deserted, no visitors, and that is the Apollo Gallery. A makeshift barrier had been put over the gallery doorway to prevent anyone from going in. And I can see right through into the main area. It's a huge vaulted gallery, incredible gilded ceilings. They came in through the window at the far end.

At the time, we knew the basic outline of the crime according to police. The window they entered through, the jewels they stole, their getaway on motorbike. But exact details of what happened inside that room, well, they wouldn't be seen by the public until months after the heist. That's when security footage surfaced, video from inside the room that morning in October. It had no sound and only a couple of angles, but it showed two people standing next to two display cases, each of them using an angle grinder and cutting into the glass. Both cut most of the way in and then slammed their elbows and shoulders into the glass until eventually it gave way. They were in. They grabbed the jewelry and stuffed it into a small pouch. The crime took minutes. The repercussions would last a lot longer.

Almost immediately after the thieves left, the investigation began. In the gallery and the street outside, investigators looked for clues to track down the jewels and the people who took them. We're going to talk about what they found at that crime scene. But the scrutiny didn't end there. Attention focused on the museum itself.

SPEAKER_3 (3:16)

New shocking revelations about the security at the Louvre or lack thereof, according to ABC News.

James Longman (3:21)

In this episode, what that scrutiny revealed, historical problems, visible vulnerabilities and mistakes at the most famous museum in the world. From ABC Audio, this is Heist at the Louvre. Episode 2, 100 million dollar questions.

Within days of the robbery, some in the French media were calling it Cas du siècle, Heist of the Century. Tim Carpenter disagrees.

Tim Carpenter (3:57)

In terms of a crime, there was anything super sexy or unusual about this crime. It was just a brute force attack.

James Longman (4:06)

Tim is the former head of the FBI's Art Crime Unit. Since 2004, according to the FBI's own statistics, this unit has chased down over 20,000 pieces worth over a billion dollars. They found a Norman Rockwell painting stolen from a private home in New Jersey 50 years ago, thanks to an anonymous tip. They tracked down a Monet looted by the Nazis during World War II and that ended up in an auction in Texas in 2024

Now, a lot of people don't know that the FBI has an art crime unit. In fact, when he first joined the agency, Tim didn't even know.

Tim Carpenter (4:45)

So imagine my surprise, you know, when I learn about this team and of course I'm jumping up and down and kind of pushing everybody out of the way. You know, I want to be on that team and part of that program.

James Longman (4:56)

The reason Tim was so excited about this unit, long before he was an FBI agent, he was a budding teenage artist. But instead of going to art school, he joined the military and most of his career, he was a bomb technician.