The BFMTV portal reported on Wednesday evening that the men were arrested. Earlier, after their arrest on Saturday, they were taken to custody, where, according to the law, they could stay for up to 96 hours.
New information from the prosecutor's office
Earlier on Wednesday, prosecutor Beccuau confirmed media reports that the two detainees belonged to a four-person group that broke into the Louvre on October 19. One of the men was detained at the airport when he tried to fly to Algeria. The second one was caught near his place of residence.
What is known about the younger man is that he is 34 years old, has Algerian citizenship, and has been living in France since 2010. The older one is 39 years old and lived near Paris in Aubervilliers, where he is also from. Both had previous criminal records. The 39-year-old has committed robberies and thefts in the past.
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Why were the men arrested?
How many crown jewels were stolen from the Louvre?
What charges were brought against the detainees?
What items did the thieves leave at the scene of the robbery?
Beccuau clarified that the police were able to track down and arrest the men thanks to DNA samples taken from the museum's windows, scooters and items they left behind, such as yellow vests. A total of 150 samples were collected. The prosecutor said they were accused of theft committed by an organized criminal group (which is punishable by 15 years in prison) and conspiracy to commit a crime (which is punishable by 10 years).
The prosecutor noted that she “does not exclude the possibility” of the existence of a much larger group of criminals involved in this spectacular theft. So far, only four people have been talked about who were directly involved in this operation – two broke into the Apollo Gallery, and the remaining two were scooter drivers on which the perpetrators fled the scene.
At the same time, she denied reports that the thieves received help from Louvre employees.
The prosecutor added that the services had still not managed to recover the stolen jewels. – I want to hope that the stolen jewels will be found and they can be returned to the Louvre museum and, more broadly, to the nation – said the prosecutor. She stressed that anyone who wants to buy stolen artifacts will be committing stolen goods. She added that “there is still time to give them back.”
A daring theft in the Louvre
Jewel thieves have been wanted since 9.38 on October 19. The Paris prosecutor's office has emphasized in recent days that there were four perpetrators at the scene of the incident, However, this does not mean that only they were involved in the entire robbery. The value of the eight looted jewels is estimated at EUR 88 million.
At the scene of the robbery and nearby, those escaping in a hurry left several items, including: a helmet, gloves, an orange vest that they used to impersonate workers, a walkie-talkie, and a container with a flammable liquid. They also lost one of the stolen items – the crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. In 2008, the Louvre bought it for EUR 6.72 million.
The criminals left the vehicle they used, a boom truck, on the street. It has so far been established that it was stolen in the Valle d'Oise department, in a small town called Louvres.
