French police have arrested two suspects in connection with the robbery of crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, officials said Sunday. The arrests were made on Saturday evening as one suspect was taken at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he prepared to fly abroad to flee the country and another in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb.
The jewels, valued at about €88 million (roughly US $102 million), were stolen in broad daylight on October 19 from the museum’s Galerie d’Apollon. According to investigators, the gang used a vehicle-mounted lift to access a first-floor balcony, entered via a smashed window, spent just minutes inside and fled on scooters.
The arrests mark the first major breakthrough in an investigation that has drawn intense scrutiny and raised questions over museum security. The Paris prosecutor criticised the “premature disclosure” of details, which she said could hamper efforts to recover the jewels.
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The thieves struck at around 09:30 local time, shortly after the Louvre opened to visitors. They arrived with a truck equipped with a lift, climbed to a balcony overlooking the River Seine side of the museum, entered by cutting through glass, carried off two display-cases of crown jewels and fled within about four to seven minutes.
One of the stolen items was an emerald-and-diamond necklace once given by Napoleon Bonaparte to his wife Empress Marie-Louise. Other pieces belonged to 19th-century French royalty.
Following the theft, France’s justice minister said security protocols had “failed” and that the country faced a “terrible image” abroad. Investigators say about one in three rooms in the targeted gallery did not have CCTV coverage at the time.
The arrested suspects are being questioned under custody that allows up to 96 hours of investigative detention. French authorities have assigned more than 100 investigators to the case and say recovery of the stolen jewels remains a top priority.
Meanwhile, the Louvre Museum has tightened it’s security and remains under review to shore up weaknesses exposed by the heist. The stolen pieces were added to the Interpol Stolen Works of Art database this week.