Louvre Museum suspects rob detainees after week-long manhunt

The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the arrests on Sunday morning, adding that one of the suspects was preparing to flee France from Roissy airport. Le Parisien earlier I mentioned Two men were arrested and they said the other person was located northeast of Paris.

A manhunt began after four people broke into the Louvre Museum in broad daylight last Sunday and stole eight pieces of jewelry, including royal necklaces, crowns and earrings. The brazen theft took just seven minutes, sparking recriminations and renewed scrutiny of the world-famous museum’s security arrangements.

The two men, already known for robberies, appeared to be experienced criminals in their 30s, from the Seine-Saint-Denis area and may have been acting on orders, Le Parisien newspaper reported. Suspects can be detained for up to 96 hours. The newspaper said that one of the two men was planning to leave the country, perhaps to Algeria, which led to their arrest.

At approximately 9:30 a.m. last Sunday, two perpetrators stopped a furniture elevator outside the Louvre Museum and moved it. The couple, with the help of two accomplices, climbed to a first-floor window and broke into the Apollon Gallery, threatening guards and cutting their way into two of the display cases.

Items worth an estimated €88 million ($102 million) were stolen, including a tiara, a ruby ​​necklace and matching earrings from Marie Amelie and Hortense’s Queen’s collection; An emerald necklace and earrings belong to Marie-Louise; Holy relics brooch. And a large crown and bow for Empress Eugenie.

As they fled, the thieves dropped a tiara containing more than 1,000 diamonds, and left traces of DNA – giving timid officials and police hope that the massive security lapse would not lead to permanent loss.

In a mail on X On Sunday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez sent his “warmest congratulations” to the investigators who “worked tirelessly as I asked of them and who have always had my full confidence.” Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin last week described the robbery as a failure, admitting that the robbery gave a “sad image of France.”

Paris prosecutor Laure Bequiau said on Sunday that she regretted revealing the arrests, which “can only hamper the investigative efforts of about a hundred investigators mobilized to search for the stolen jewelry and the perpetrators.” She said more details would be provided after the detention ends.