"Finding The Louvre Jewels": High-Stakes Heists & Elite Investigators Exposed in New IMPACT x Nightline Episode

The world of high-stakes art and jewel heists is set to be peeled back in the latest installment of the award-winning ABC News Studios' streaming newsmagazine, IMPACT x Nightline. The episode, titled Finding The Louvre Jewels, promises to take viewers deep inside the recent $100 million Louvre crown jewels theft and the global hunt to recover them, streaming on Thursday, Nov. 13, on Disney+ and Hulu.

What's Happening:

The new episode, led by ABC News chief international correspondent James Longman, investigates the disappearance of $100 million worth of crown jewels and brings together convicted former thieves, elite investigators, and firsthand witnesses to offer an unprecedented look into the mind of a thief and the global operations that track them down.
The program promises new intel on how the Louvre crown jewels vanished and the extensive efforts made to find them.
Convicted former thieves, including Myles Connor and David Desclos, detail the thrill of a heist and share how they would have pulled off the ultimate score.
Viewers will go behind the scenes with the OCBE, France’s elite art crime unit, and hear from Robert Wittman, the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, who shares never-before-seen video of a sting operation to recover a $35 million Rembrandt.
The infamous 2003 Antwerp diamond heist is revisited with the cops who investigated it (Agim De Bruycker) and the diamond brokers who lived through it (Ine Tassignon and Danny Meylemans).
The episode features a new interview with a family member of one of the accused Louvre robbers and provides rare perspectives from those closest to some of the world’s most audacious art and jewel heists.
This episode is part of the fourth season of ABC News Studios’ IMPACT x Nightline, which investigates topics dominating American culture and conversations around the globe. Eman Varoqua is executive producer.

The Louvre: Target of Thieves for Centuries

The Louvre Museum in Paris is one of the world's most famous cultural institutions, housing millions of works of art, including the Mona Lisa. Due to the immense historical and monetary value of its collection, it has been a frequent target of thieves throughout history, often prompting major overhauls of security protocols.
The Mona Lisa Theft (1911): Perhaps the most famous theft in Louvre history was not a jewel, but Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Vincenzo Peruggia, a museum employee, stole the painting by simply walking out with it hidden under his coat. It was missing for over two years before being recovered in Italy, leading to global sensationalism and making the painting exponentially more famous.
The French Crown Jewels: The jewels discussed in the episode are part of the vast collection of French Crown Jewels, which have a tumultuous history of their own. Many were sold off in 1887 to prevent any potential monarchist restoration, but the most historically significant pieces were retained and placed in the Louvre's Apollo Gallery, which is where they remain and are now heavily protected. The current collection in the Louvre, including the renowned Regent Diamond, represents centuries of French history and royal power.
Art and Antiquities Crime: The investigation featured in Finding The Louvre Jewels puts a spotlight on art theft. Unlike standard robbery, these cases often involve international networks, money laundering, and deep knowledge of the art market. Agencies like the FBI's Art Crime Team and France's OCBE are highly specialized units dedicated to recovering these treasures, which often disappear into the black market, sometimes used as collateral for major drug deals or arms trafficking.

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"Finding The Louvre Jewels": High-Stakes Heists & Elite Investigators Exposed in New IMPACT x Nightline Episode

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