Two men arrested last Saturday for breaking into the Louvre Museum in Paris „partially pleaded guilty”said Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau at a press conference on Wednesday. TF1 TV reported on its website, writes TASR.
Beccuau added that the two men are suspected of that they broke into Apollo’s gallery and stole the jewels on display. They were brought before investigating magistrates on Wednesday and will be formally charged from theft committed by an organized group. Beccuau added that the prosecutor’s office is asking for their custodial prosecution.
At the same time, the Paris prosecutor informed that the investigators they do not exclude the possibility that the group of perpetrators was much larger than the four persons mentioned so far. TF1 added that the prosecutor used the word “commando” in this context. According to the prosecutor, there is no indication that the perpetrators had accomplices in the museum.
Stolen jewelry to the police still not found. “I want to continue to hope that they will be found and returned to the Louvre and, more broadly, to the nation,” Beccuau said. According to her, they are “These jewels are now obviously unsaleable“. She pointed out that anyone who buys them is guilty of receiving stolen goods, and appealed that “there’s still time to return them.“
The investigation has made great progress, Beccuau said. TF1 reported that the police managed to take away almost 150 samples and get ten DNA profiles. The motorcycle used by the perpetrators to escape from the crime scene was also found. One of the exhibits of the Louvre Museum was broken into on Sunday, October 19. The offenders stole jewelry of an estimated value 88 million euros. One of the objects – the crown of Empress Eugenia – was thrown away near the crime scene. Beccuau said her repair would be difficult.
