The Apolo Gallery, the Louvre room where the historic robbery took place
One of the suspects was caught when he was about to catch a flight to Algeria, the other was still in the Paris area. There is still no sign of the stolen jewelry.
French authorities detained two suspicious men of being involved in the audacious theft of jewels valued at 88 million euros from the Louvre Museum, in Paris, last Sunday. The robbery, carried out by four men, resulted in the theft of crown jewels, including pieces that belonged to Napoleon’s wives, in less than seven minutes.
According to Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau, a suspect was detained on Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport when he was preparing to board a flight to Algeria. The second was arrested later the same night in the Paris metropolitan area. Both men, believed to be around 30 years old and already known to police, are being held on suspicion of organized robbery and criminal conspiracy, according to .
Beccuau expressed concern about premature leaks to the media, warning that releasing details of the arrests could harm the investigation. “More than 100 researchers remain mobilized to recover the stolen jewelry and arrest all perpetrators,” she said. Under French law, suspects can be detained for up to 96 hours before being formally charged.
Radio France Inter reported that the two suspects are from Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, and were identified through forensic traces left at the scene of the crime. Items recovered include a helmet, angle grinders, a high-visibility vest and other tools believed to have been used in the robbery. Authorities are analyzing more than 150 samples of DNA, fingerprints and other materials, with Beccuau describing the progress of the investigation as “optimistic.”
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez congratulated investigators on the quick arrests, but urged the press to respect judicial secrecy so as not to compromise ongoing efforts.
The robbery itself occurred with cinematic precision. At around 9:30 am last Sunday, the thieves arrived at the Louvre in a stolen furniture moving truck, equipped with an extension ladder and elevator. Two of the men, disguised as maintenance workers wearing high-visibility vests, went up to the Apollo Gallery on the first floor, broke an unprotected window and used disc cutters to break into two shop windows. , they had seized eight historical jewels before escaping through the elevator towards the awaiting motorbikes.
Among the stolen treasures are an emerald and diamond necklace given by Napoleon I to his second wife, Maria Luísa, and a pearl and diamond diadem worn by Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. The gang dropped a crown in their haste to escape, but the rest remain missing as the search intensifies.
