Exclusive | America’s most infamous jewel thief slams Louvre robbers as ‘idiots’ — and reveals shocking way they could have smuggled gems out of Paris

Loot in the booty?

The thieves who fleeced $102 million worth of jewels from the Louvre Museum may have hidden the precious pieces up their posteriors in a bid to smuggle them out of France.

That eye-popping hypothesis was made by America’s most infamous jewelry thief, Larry Lawton, who spoke with The Post about the headline-grabbing heist.

“I hope they had enough money to literally lie low and get out of the country,” Lawton, 64, said of the four thieves who pulled off the audacious — if somewhat haphazard — Paris robbery over the weekend.

Lawton looted 25 jewelry stores across America’s East Coast during the 1980s and ’90s, netting a total haul estimated at $18 million. He often zip-tied terrified store owners and customers during the daytime raids.

With his own experience as a reference, Lawton revealed that if the Louvre bandits — whom he described as “amateurs” and “idiots” — escaped on an airplane, they wouldn’t have put the jewels in their hand luggage.

“Believe it or not, depending on the size, you could take some of that jewelry apart and literally ‘suitcase’ it,” Lawton said, explaining that the normally conventional term involves “inserting something in your rectum.”

“You have seven extra inches in your anus, and the reason I know this is [because] I’ve actually had a knife up my a–,” the ex-con shockingly confessed, recalling his past wild life and crimes.

“You put a knife in half of a [travel] toothbrush holder,” he graphically continued, “and put masking tape on the other end.”

Once one of the country’s most wanted men, Lawton constantly evaded capture thanks to immaculate planning and precision.

However, the native New Yorker says the Louvre robbers don’t possess the same prowess; it’s been reported that the four thieves made major mistakes during the heist.

One of the men allegedly left behind a glove, while another dropped Empress Eugenie’s imperial crown during the hasty getaway, damaging the historic headwear.

“They’re not professionals like I was,” he added. “I robbed 25 f–king stores and I never dropped the jewelry, no less a f–king crown!”

Additionally, the group failed an evidence-destroying attempt to set fire to a work truck and ladder that they used while posing as construction workers during their break-in.

Because of their errors, Lawton believes that the thieves will eventually be identified and arrested — even if they’ve fled France with the loot up their booties.

“How do you leave gloves?” an exasperated Lawton asked, noting that sweat could remain. “They have DNA and — unless these guys lived a f–king pristine life, and I doubt it — they’ll get caught.”

The reformed felon conjectured that at least one of the robbers is a Parisian local with some sort of connection to the famed museum.

According to Lawton, someone at the Louvre likely shared information, possibly unwittingly, with a robber, who then used it in nefarious ways.

Meanwhile, Lawton — who was eventually arrested in 1996 and served 11 years behind bars — says the most crucial part of being a jewelry thief is being able to fence the stolen goods.

Given the rarity of the Louvre jewels, he believes it may be hard for the criminals to offload the items — even if they’re taken apart and broken down.

However, despite their errors and the fear they’re now likely feeling, Lawton said the foursome were no doubt elated after exiting the building with eight items.

“You are f–king juiced,” he said, describing the feeling of carrying out a raid. “Your adrenaline is flowing.

“I’ve done every drug in the book, but there’s no high like walking out of a jewelry store knowing you got $1 million in a f–king bag.”