PARIS, Oct 21: A woman of Chinese origin has been formally charged in connection with the theft of six gold nuggets valued at approximately €1.5 million ($1.75 million; £1.3 million) from the Museum of Natural History in Paris, according to French prosecutors.

Authorities stated the suspect was apprehended in Barcelona, where she was allegedly attempting to dispose of melted-down gold. She is currently being held in pre-trial detention.

The gold was stolen from the museum’s mineralogy gallery, a section of the institution well known for its impressive displays of minerals alongside its collections of stuffed animals and fossils. Investigators discovered an angle grinder and a blowtorch at the crime scene.

At the time of the theft, the museum’s alarm and surveillance systems had been disabled by a cyberattack, according to French media reports, which also indicated that the perpetrators were aware of the system failure in advance.

“The thieves, clearly very experienced and well-informed, exploited a security flaw that had not been identified during the last audit conducted in 2024,” a museum spokesperson told Le Figaro.

The break-in was discovered by cleaning staff who arrived before dawn. The museum is part of Sorbonne University and is located near the Jardin des Plantes in central Paris.

According to officials, the suspect was arrested by Spanish police on September 30 under a European Arrest Warrant and was transferred to French custody the same day. At the time of her arrest, she was reportedly carrying approximately one kilogram of melted gold. Authorities believe she was preparing to travel to China. Investigations remain ongoing.

One of the largest stolen gold nuggets, originally sourced from Australia, weighs 5 kilograms, with an estimated value of €585,000 based on current gold prices.

“We are dealing with an extremely professional team, perfectly aware of where they needed to go, and with professional equipment,” said Emmanuel Skoulios, director of the museum, speaking to French media.

“It is absolutely not by chance that they went for these specific items,” he added during an interview with France 2 last month.

The arrest and charges follow another high-profile theft just days earlier, in which the Louvre Museum was targeted. On Sunday, professional thieves broke into the renowned museum and stole eight valuable items, believed to be part of the French crown jewels.

According to police, the Louvre raid lasted under eight minutes, with the suspects fleeing the scene on scooters.

Experts suggest the stolen items will likely be broken up and sold for far less than their true value.

“This won’t be their first heist,” said Arthur Brand, a Dutch art detective, in a statement to the BBC on Monday. “They have done things before — other burglaries. They are confident and thought, ‘we might get away with this,’ and went for it.”

In recent months, at least four French museums, including the Louvre and the Museum of Natural History, have reportedly been targeted by thieves, according to various media outlets.