Editor’s Note
Two arrested in Louvre crown jewels theft; suspect detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the theft of precious crown jewels and other items from the Louvre Museum in Paris, French media reported on Saturday.
According to reports, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that suspects were arrested on the evening of October 25. It did not specify how many people were detained.
The prosecutor’s office explained that one of the male suspects was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he was preparing to board an aircraft.
French media, citing police sources, reported that one suspect was about to travel to Algeria, while another was heading to Mali.
Police can hold suspects for up to 96 hours for questioning.
French media reported that one suspect was identified from DNA found at the crime scene. The group left behind several items, including gloves and high-visibility jackets.
It has also been reported that the group allegedly dropped a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
The Paris prosecutor’s office criticized the “premature disclosure” of information about the case, saying it hindered the recovery of stolen items and the capture of the perpetrators.
On October 19, a group of four thieves armed with power tools entered the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, in broad daylight and stole jewelry worth a total of €88 million (approximately ¥15.5 billion).
The French justice minister said the security “failure” had left a “terrible image” for France.
According to French media, a preliminary report on the incident noted that one of the three rooms in the area where the thieves entered had no surveillance cameras.
Police said the thieves were inside the museum for about four minutes and fled at 9:38 a.m. on two scooters waiting outside.
Louvre Museum Director Laurence des Cars told a Senate hearing on October 22 that the only surveillance camera covering the exterior wall where the thieves entered was pointing in a different direction from the balcony leading to the “Galerie d’Apollon,” where the jewels were stolen.
Experts have suggested that the stolen gems may have already been broken down into hundreds of fragments. Gold and silver can be melted down, and gemstones can be cut into pieces so small that tracking them is nearly impossible.
Following the incident, French cultural institutions have tightened security.
The Louvre has already moved some of its most valuable jewels to the Banque de France (central bank). They are now stored in the bank’s most secure vault, 26 meters underground at its headquarters in central Paris.