A week after the spectacular theft of eight French Crown Jewels minutes from the Louvre, two men suspected of being part of a commando force were arrested on Sunday and placed in police custody.
In a press release, Paris prosecutor Laura Becquo confirmed “that BRB investigators [Brigade de répression du banditisme] [avaient] made arrests in the evening [de] SATURDAY”.
“One of the detainees was preparing to leave the territory of Roissy airport,” she added, confirming the media information. Parisian And Paris match.
Making the arrests public “can only harm the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators mobilized in search of the stolen jewelry and all the criminals,” she complained.
Two sources close to the case confirmed to AFP the arrest of two suspects, who were placed in police custody for organized theft and criminal association.
Their detention can last up to 96 hours.
According to one of these sources, the arrests were carried out by the BRB with the support of the Research and Intervention Brigade.
According to a second close source, the man detained at Roissy airport was planning to fly to Algeria.
The two suspects are suspected of being part of a four-man squad that stole eight French crown jewels worth €88 million last Sunday.
At about 9:30 am on October 19, they set up a truck lift at the foot of the museum, on the Quai François-Mitterrand, and two of them, with their faces covered, climbed with the basket into the Apollo Gallery.
Commissioned by Louis XIV to celebrate his glory as the Sun King, this room houses the royal collection of approximately 800 gems and crown diamonds.
After using grinders to smash the window and jewelry displays, the thieves left behind two powerful scooters driven by their accomplices.
The heist, which spanned the entire world, lasted a total of seven to eight minutes.
Jewelry is always in demand
About a hundred investigators are involved in the investigations assigned to the BRB and the Central Office for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property.
More than “150 DNA, tissue and other trace samples were taken from the robbery scene,” Laura Beccuo said Thursday.
During their escape, the criminals abandoned, among other things, gloves, a helmet, two grinders, a blowtorch, a yellow vest and a walkie-talkie from which samples were taken.
They also dropped the crown of Empress Eugenie, which was damaged and needed to be repaired.
The thieves did not have time to set fire to the forklift, which was also examined by investigators.
The prosecutor also explained that video surveillance “made it possible to follow” the route of the criminals “in Paris and neighboring departments” and also necessitated the use of “images available through public or private cameras (motorways, banks, companies, etc.).”
So far, no jewelry has been found. The risk is that the diamonds and gemstones on the jewelry will dissolve and the jewelry will melt.
“In the end we always find the thieves. It looks like it's organized crime, we'll see,” said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, saying he was “worried about the jewels” in an interview published in Tribune Sunday.
“Unfortunately, loot often remains undetected abroad. I hope that is not the case, I remain confident,” he continued.
The burglary, which appears to have been carefully planned, has raised questions about the security of the world's most famous museum.
An administrative investigation entrusted to the Main Inspectorate for Cultural Affairs is also ongoing.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati said on Friday on X that she had requested the presentation of her findings “from the beginning of next week in order to announce concrete measures to ensure the safety of the Louvre and its surroundings.”
