New details about the Louvre robbery. Among the suspects is a former guard at a museum in Paris and a small influencer passionate about motorcycles
The place where thieves broke into the Louvre museum in Paris. Photo source: Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP / Profimedia
One of the men arrested in the case of the Louvre Museum jewelry robbery is a minor social media star with a passion for motorcycles who worked as a security guard at the Pompidou Center, French media reports. The 39-year-old man, identified as Abdoulaye N., was arrested at home six days after the spectacular theft on October 19, notes The Guardian.
Abdoulaye N. is accused of organized theft and the creation of a criminal group. A court in Bobigny, north of Paris, on Wednesday postponed his trial in another case, in which he is accused of destroying public property, citing “media attention and recent events”.
In total, four suspects are in custody in connection with the robbery. The thieves made off with eight valuable jewels, including an emerald and diamond necklace given by Napoleon I to his wife, Maria Luiza, and a tiara with 212 pearls and nearly 2,000 diamonds that belonged to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. The jewelry has not yet been recovered.
According to Le Parisien and BFMTV, Abdoulaye N.'s DNA was found on a broken shop window and on items abandoned at the scene – including gloves, a reflective vest and a grinder. The press writes that he is suspected of being one of the two men who broke into the gallery.
Known online as Doudou Cross Bitume, the suspect had posted numerous videos on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram of himself performing motorcycle stunts in Paris and Aubervilliers.
Some clips, accompanied by the slogan Toujours plus près du bitume (“Always close to the tarmac”), show him doing motorcycle stunts in Paris and Aubervilliers, near the Stade de France. Other videos contain tips for muscle training.
In several videos, Doudou Cross Bitume appears on a Yamaha TMax motorcycle, the same model of powerful maxi-scooter used by the perpetrators of the robbery to flee the scene.
According to Le Parisien, Abdoulaye N. previously worked for the courier company UPS, for the Toys R Us store chain and as a security guard at the Pompidou Center. Neighbors described him as “jumpy” and “respectful”.
According to several sources cited by French media, his record includes 15 offences, from drug possession and transport, to driving without a license and endangering other people. He was also convicted of a jewelery robbery in 2014.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the suspect had given little information to investigators but had “partially admitted” his involvement in the Louvre robbery. Another suspect, arrested last week, had been convicted in the same robbery case in 2014, Beccuau said.
It stressed that the suspects' profiles “do not match those usually associated with high-level organized crime”, fueling speculation that they may have been hired by an unknown person who orchestrated the operation.
According to the Associated Press, Abdoulaye N. was due to stand trial Wednesday in another case on minor charges of destroying a mirror and damaging the door of the cell he was held in in 2019 in a separate investigation from which he was later exonerated.
