Two suspects in Louvre heist case arrested by French police near Paris
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A forensic team inspecting a window believed to have been used in the Louvre heist on Oct 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS - The French authorities have detained two of the suspected robbers believed to have stolen precious crown jewels from the Louvre in a museum heist that stunned the world, officials said on Oct 26.
Dozens of investigators had been tasked with tracking down the thieves who successfully robbed the Louvre in broad daylight
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said they had “carried out arrests on the evening of Oct 25”, after two sources close to the case had confirmed local media reports of the detentions.
“One of the men arrested was about to leave the country” from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, Ms Beccuau said, confirming reports by Le Parisien and Paris Match.
In a statement, she deplored the fact that information about their arrest was leaked.
“This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the 100 or so mobilised investigators, both in the search for the stolen jewellery and for all the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any specific details,” Ms Beccuau said.
One of the sources said the man was about to board a plane for Algeria.
The second man had been detained not long after in the Paris region, the media reports said.
The two men were taken into police custody on suspicion of organised theft and criminal conspiracy. They could be held for up to 96 hours.
In a post on X, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called for confidentiality while congratulating the investigators “who have worked tirelessly”.
During the heist, robbers clambered up the extendable ladder of a stolen movers’ truck and, using cutting equipment, broke into a first-floor gallery.
They dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown as they fled down the ladder and onto scooters, but managed to steal eight other pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon Bonaparte gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.
The brazen theft has made headlines across the world and sparked a debate in France about the security of cultural institutions.
The Louvre’s director has admitted the robbers took advantage of a blind spot in the security surveillance of the museum’s outside walls.
But Ms Beccuau said public and private security cameras elsewhere had allowed detectives to track the thieves “in Paris and in surrounding regions”.
Investigators were also able to find dozens of DNA samples and fingerprints at the scene.
The crown that the robbers dropped once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III. It was damaged and needs to be restored.
The rest of the pieces have not been recovered and risk being broken apart, with their precious metal settings melted down.
Mr Nunez expressed his “concern for the jewellery” in an interview with French weekly La Tribune Dimanche on Oct 26, saying the heist appeared to have been carried out by an organised crime group but adding that “thieves are always eventually caught”.
“The loot is unfortunately often stashed abroad. I hope that’s not the case – I remain confident,” he added.
The Louvre theft is the latest in a string of robberies targeting French museums.
Less than 24 hours after the Louvre break-in, a museum in eastern France reported the theft of gold and silver coins after finding a smashed display case.
In September, criminals broke into Paris’ Natural History Museum, making off with gold nuggets worth more than US$1.5 million. A Chinese woman has been detained and charged with involvement in the theft. Culture Minister Rachida Dati said on X on Oct 24 she had requested findings from an investigation into the Louvre’s security by early next week to “announce concrete measures to secure” the museum. AFP
