French authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with the theft of royal jewels worth €88 million ($102 million) from the Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the most audacious art heists in recent years.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the arrests were made on Saturday evening. One of the suspects was detained while attempting to board a flight to Algeria at Charles de Gaulle Airport, while another was reportedly preparing to travel to Mali. The suspects are being held for questioning and can be detained for up to 96 hours under French law.
The robbery took place last Sunday morning, when four masked thieves used power tools to break into the museum’s Gallery of Apollo home to some of France’s most valuable crown jewels just minutes after opening.
Using a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift, the gang accessed a first-floor balcony overlooking the River Seine and entered through a window. They then threatened guards, smashed open two display cases, and escaped on two scooters within four minutes, according to police.
Among the eight items stolen were a gold tiara encrusted with diamonds and pearls once worn by Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, as well as the Marie-Louise necklace and a pair of emerald earrings.
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French Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti admitted that “security protocols failed,” saying the theft left the country with a “terrible image.”
A preliminary investigation revealed that one in three rooms in the affected section of the museum lacked CCTV coverage. Louvre director Laurence des Cars told French senators that the only external camera near the break-in point was angled away from the balcony, leaving the thieves undetected until they had fled.
Experts fear the jewels may already have been broken up or melted down, making recovery difficult. “Gold and silver can be melted, and gems cut into smaller stones that are impossible to trace,” Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told the BBC.
Following the heist, security has been tightened across French museums, and the Louvre has moved its remaining crown jewels to the Bank of France’s underground vaults, located 26 meters below ground in central Paris.
