Two suspects arrested after $102 million Louvre jewel heist

PARIS

French authorities have arrested several suspects over last weekend’s spectacular theft of royal jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum, officials said on Oct. 26.

According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the arrests took place on Oct. 25 evening, with one suspect detained at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport as he attempted to board a plane abroad. French outlets Le Parisien and Paris Match reported that another suspect was arrested shortly after in the Paris region.

The thieves, believed to be part of a four-man crew, carried out the robbery in less than eight minutes early on Oct. 19, making off with jewels valued at about 88 million euros ($102 million). Investigators said the intruders scaled the Louvre’s façade using a basket lift from a stolen movers’ truck, forced open a window, smashed display cases, and fled the scene.

As they escaped down the ladder and onto scooters, the robbers dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown but successfully stole eight other pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon Bonaparte gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

Beccuau said investigators from the anti-gang brigade carried out the arrests and that more than 100 officers remain mobilized to recover the missing jewels and locate the rest of the perpetrators. She criticized the early media leaks, warning they could hinder the ongoing investigation.

The museum’s director described the heist as a “terrible failure,” and the theft has sparked a national debate in France about the security of cultural institutions.