French police have arrested two men suspected of involvement in the theft of crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m) from the Louvre museum in Paris, officials confirmed on Sunday. One man was detained at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday evening as he prepared to board a flight to Algeria, while a second was taken into custody in the Paris region, reportedly planning to travel to Mali.
The Paris public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, confirmed the arrests but cautioned that premature disclosure could jeopardise the work of over 100 investigators. The suspects, both in their 30s, are known to police and have criminal records for robbery. They were identified from forensic evidence left at the scene, including gloves, a hi-vis vest, a motorbike helmet, angle grinders, a blow-torch and a walkie-talkie.
The heist took place on the morning of 1 October when four men used a stolen furniture removal truck with an extending ladder to access the first-floor Apollo gallery. Wearing hi-vis vests to pose as maintenance workers, two of them smashed a window and used disc cutters to open display cases. They stole eight richly gem-encrusted pieces, including a diamond and emerald necklace given by Napoleon I to his second wife, Marie Louise, and a diadem belonging to Empress Eugénie.
The robbery lasted less than seven minutes, with the two intruders spending just under four minutes inside the gallery. They dropped a diamond and emerald-studded crown during their escape but fled with items worth nearly €90m, described by Beccuau as 'a spectacular sum, but nothing compared to their historical value'. The Louvre, visited by 8.7 million people last year, houses masterpieces including the Mona Lisa.
French interior minister Laurent Nuñez sent congratulations to investigators but urged confidentiality to avoid hindering the inquiry. Beccuau said more than 150 DNA samples and other traces from the scene were being analysed, expressing optimism about the investigation's outcome. The suspects are being held under French law, which allows pre-charge custody of up to 96 hours.
