The French Police have arrested two of the four suspects of the robbery committed at the Louvre Museum last Sunday. The two men were arrested on Saturday night in Paris and can remain in custody for a maximum of 96 hours. As revealed by Le Parisien and Paris Match, and later confirmed by the Prosecutor's Office, the suspects, well-known to the police for previous robberies, are under judicial surveillance for "belonging to an organized gang" and "criminal conspiracy" and are being questioned about the whereabouts of the eight jewels from the Napoleon and Empress's collection stolen from the museum and valued at 88 million euros.
One of the suspects, with dual French-Algerian nationality according to information from Le Monde, was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport when he was about to board a flight to Algeria, as reported by Le Figaro. The second, of French nationality, had plans to leave for Mali. The two detainees are around thirty years old and are believed to have been part of the four-member "commando" that managed to enter the Louvre's Apollo Gallery through a window on the first floor and using a forklift from the outside.
Additionally, on Saturday, the British newspaper The Telegraph revealed that there could be evidence that a member of the museum's security team had been in contact with the thieves. "Sources close to the investigation claim that there are digital and forensic evidence showing that a security member was in contact, before the robbery, with individuals considered as the perpetrators. Sensitive information about the museum's security was transmitted," the newspaper stated.
The Prosecutor's Office has regretted the "premature" disclosure of the progress in the investigation, which could harm future actions. "This revelation can only harm the investigative efforts of the hundreds of mobilized investigators, both in the search for the stolen jewels and all the criminals. It is too early to provide more details on this matter," transmitted Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.
A hundred investigators from the Brigade for the Repression of Organized Gangs (BRB) and the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods (OCBC) are participating in the investigations, with nearly five hundred agents involved in the search and capture operation.
Investigators found up to 150 DNA samples and other traces left by the thieves in the gallery, who also dropped the most valuable piece of the loot (Marie Eugenie's crown) and lost a helmet during their escape on two motorcycles. Although the Louvre's exterior cameras did not cover the Seine facade from where they carried out the robbery, the images captured by cameras on the streets and highways of Paris were crucial in locating them.
The Paris prosecutor was "optimistic" about the progress of the investigation late on Friday, although she acknowledged that the jewels had likely been dismantled during the time elapsed and that it would be difficult to recover them. Among them, a necklace of emeralds and diamonds that Napoleon gave to his second wife, Marie Louise, and a diadem of 212 from Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.
The Police are following the trail of the other two members of the gang who carried out the robbery, and new arrests in the coming hours are not ruled out. The lead of the van with the lifting platform used in the assault could also have been decisive: its owner provided details to the police about the perpetrators who contacted him through the online marketplace Leboncoin.
As explained by the Paris prosecutor, the thieves attempted a "fake rental for a supposed move". "When one of the employees of the company owning the vehicle arrived at the moving location, he found himself facing two threatening men, although they did not use any violence against him," stated the prosecutor, indicating that the man filed a robbery report.
The thieves tried to set fire to the platform in their escape but did not have time.