Art thieves in Europe are committing more violent robberies focusing on gold and jewels, and specialist gangs have been replaced by ad hoc opportunists recruited through social media, Europol said on Monday.
The heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris in October last year was a prime example of these shifts, Europol said, as the thieves threatened guards and visitors, and stole €88 million worth of jewels such as Empress Eugenie's tiara. Over the last two years, art thieves have shifted their attention to precious metals, jewels and cultural artefacts that offer greater profits, the EU's law enforcement agency said in a report.
The price of gold has surged 85% over the past two years, as investors and central banks turn to the metal as a safe haven. The London Bullion Market Association, which oversees London's over-the-counter gold trading hub, has warned that "as gold prices rise to historic levels, illicit flows and market distortions are also increasing."
Europol said: "Offenders are breaching premises and display cases using tools such as sledgehammers, axes, crowbars and, in some instances, explosives." Where traditional gangs used "deception and stealth", had a central leader and niche expertise, recent thefts were carried out by a decentralised ad-hoc group of profit-seeking opportunists, recruited through social media on a "crime-as-a-service" basis, it said.