Suspects are a man, aged 37, and a woman, aged 38. Both deny the charges
Two people, a man and a woman, were charged this Saturday with crimes related to the robbery of the Louvre Museum, in Paris. The two were part of the group of French authorities. The remaining three were released without charge.
According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, one of the suspects, a 37-year-old man, was charged with group robbery and criminal conspiracy. The 38-year-old woman was accused of complicity. Both deny the accusations.
The woman’s lawyer, Adrien Sorrentino, told journalists that his client is “devastated” by this entire situation. “She doesn’t understand how she is implicated in any of the elements she is being accused of,” said the lawyer, quoted by
The robbery, which exposed serious security flaws in the most visited museum in the world, occurred on the morning of October 19, during opening hours.
. According to the Paris prosecutor, both “partially admitted” their involvement in the robbery. The two are believed to be the men who broke into the Apollo Gallery, where the theft of the nine jewels from Napoleon’s collection took place. One of them was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport with a one-way ticket to Algeria. According to the prosecutor, his DNA matches a sample collected on one of the two scooters used in the escape.
The robbery lasted no more than four minutes and occurred between 9:30 and 9:40 (local time, 8:30 and 9:40 in Portugal) on October 19, coinciding with the opening time of the Louvre.
The preliminary investigation found that the suspects were able to access the room where the jewelry was displayed. Then, , who was found by the police nearby shortly after the robbery alert.
During the week, it was reported that the balcony area was used by the robbers, leading investigators to suspect the involvement of museum employees, who knew which entrance should be used.
In total, the jewels stolen a week ago are valued at around , as revealed by the Paris prosecutor in the aftermath of the events.
