French authorities have announced the arrest of two suspects in connection with the theft of the crown jewels from the Louvre Museum. The update comes a week after a heist that shocked the world, inspired endless social media content and sparked a massive manhunt.
Related: FookAge shows suspect flees Louvre museum after stealing more than $100m worth of jewelry (video)
One suspect was arrested while trying to flee the country
On Sunday (October 26), the Paris prosecutor said that investigators made an arrest on Saturday evening. Prosecutor Laure Beccua did not confirm the amount of arrests and did not say if there were any louvre treasures found. However, French Media BFM Newspaper and Le Parisien Newspaper previously reported that police officers arrested two suspects. BecCuau also said that investigators in the special police meeting in charge of armed robbery, serious burglaries and art theft made arrests.
Also, the police chief – who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case – told the Associated Press that the two men in their 30s were also known to the police. He said one suspect was arrested when he tried to board a plane bound for Algeria at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport.
In addition, the police identified one of the suspects through DNA testing. Prosecutor BECUAU said earlier this week that forensics experts analyzed 150 samples at the scene.
Prosecutor calls pre-arrest leak
In her statement, prosecutor Laure Beccua closed the early leaks. He said it could hinder the work of more than 100 investigators “They are working together to recover the stolen jewelry and arrest all the perpetrators.”
“I deeply regret the release of that information by people with information, regardless of whether it was investigated,” Beccua said Sunday night, via ABC News.
BecCuau said the officials will reveal more details after the detention period of the suspects. As of Saturday evening, police had up to 96 hours to arrest the suspects before needing to release them or charge them. It is not clear whether the suspects were still in custody on Tuesday.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “Investigators who worked tirelessly, as I asked them to, and who were always absolutely convinced.”
The recovery of these thieves from what they stole during the louvre heist
Thieves took less than eight minutes on October 19 to steal treasures from the world’s most visited museum. The stolen goods are valued at 88 million euros ($102 million). The French authorities described how the attackers used a Basset Basket to scale the facade of the Louvre, force open the windows, hit the display cases and escape. The director of the museum called the incident “a terrible failure.”
The thieves got away with eight items. The list includes a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to the 19th century Queens Marie-Amélie of Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also took an emerald necklace and earrings with an emphasis on Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, and a brooch shown. Emphasizing Eugénie’s Diando’s DiaDem and her large brooch – her cow was part of the booty. Authorities later found one piece, Eugenie’s Emerald Conch-Set crown of more than 1,300 diamonds. It was outside the museum, which was damaged but repaired.
The Louvre reopened last week after the theft of the museum’s most prestigious museum of the century. Meanwhile, the world is still haunted by Audacity and the scale of the heist has even inspired Halloween costumes.
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Associated Press reporters Samuel Petrequin and Nicolas Garriga contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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