PARIS — French police arrested two suspects Saturday evening in connection with the Oct. 19 theft of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement reported by Reuters.
According to French media reports, one suspect was taken into custody at Charles de Gaulle Airport while preparing to board a flight, and another was detained in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris. Both men are known to police for previous thefts, the reports said.
The stolen items — eight pieces from the French crown jewels — are valued at about €88 million ($102 million). The thieves entered the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon using a balcony lift and escaped on motorbikes after a seven-minute operation.
Investigators identified the suspects through DNA evidence, according to CNN French affiliate BFMTVM. ABC News said police had collected more than 150 trace samples from the crime scene, including fingerprints and DNA from a helmet and glove left behind.
Beccuau’s statement did not indicate whether any of the jewels have been recovered. At least two other suspects remain at large amid a nationwide manhunt, ABC News reported.
Investigators are also examining whether someone inside the Louvre may have played a role in the theft, according to several outlets including ABC News and The Daily Beast.
Advertisement
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised investigators Sunday on social media, writing: “I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to the investigators who worked tirelessly as I asked them to and who always had my full confidence.”
