Late Wednesday night, French authorities conducted multiple police operations in Paris and its surrounding areas, including the Seine-Saint-Denis region, resulting in the detention of five individuals, according to Prosecutor Laure Beccuau. While Beccuau shared this information with RTL radio, she withheld the identities and further specifics about those apprehended.
“The searches conducted last night and into the early hours did not lead us to the missing items,” Beccuau stated.
The audacious theft, executed in under eight minutes, saw robbers make off with jewels valued at €88 million ($155 million), sending shockwaves globally. The perpetrators forcefully accessed a window, used power tools to break into display cases, and escaped with eight pieces of the French crown jewels.
This brazen daylight robbery exposed significant security flaws within the Louvre, sparking a national discourse on the measures France employs to safeguard its historical treasures.
Among those charged is a 34-year-old Algerian national residing in France since 2010, Beccuau revealed. He was apprehended at Charles de Gaulle airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria without a return ticket. He lived in Aubervilliers, a northern suburb of Paris, and was primarily known to the police for traffic violations. His DNA was discovered on one of the scooters used by the robbers to flee the scene, Beccuau noted.
Another suspect, aged 39, was detained at his residence in Aubervilliers. This individual had a history of theft-related offenses, and his DNA was detected on one of the glass cases that housed the stolen jewels, as well as on items abandoned by the thieves, Beccuau added.
Video surveillance cameras showed there were at least four people involved, Beccuau said.
Four of the suspects arrived onboard a truck equipped with a freight lift that two of them used to climb up to the museum’s window. The four of them left onboard two motor scooters along the Seine River toward eastern Paris, where they had some other vehicles parked, she said.
Beccuau said nothing suggests that the robbers had accomplices within the museum’s staff.
She made a plea on Wednesday night to those who have the jewels: “These jewels are now, of course, unsellable … Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. There’s still time to give them back.”
Information about investigations is meant to be secret under French law to avoid compromising police work and to ensure victims’ right to privacy. Only the prosecutor can speak publicly about developments, and violators can be prosecuted. Police and investigators are not supposed to divulge information about arrests or suspects without the prosecutor’s approval, though in high-profile cases, police union officials have leaked partial details.
