Authorities have apprehended two suspects in connection with the recent theft of France’s valuable crown jewels from the Louvre Museum. One of the suspects was intercepted at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport as he tried to board a flight to Algeria following the brazen heist where a gang escaped with £76 million worth of jewelry. The suspects were tracked down through forensic evidence linking them to the crime scene at the Louvre. They are now being interrogated at the high-security Paris judicial police headquarters.
Following the robbery, the Louvre Museum was placed on lockdown after the thieves, disguised in high-visibility vests, used a mechanical ladder to access a balcony, broke into the Galerie d’Apollon, and fled on scooters. Among the items stolen were a brooch containing 2348 diamonds and a tiara adorned with 1083 diamonds, previously worn by Napoléon Bonaparte’s relatives.
During their escape, the thieves dropped a historic headpiece crafted for Empress Eugénie, causing severe damage that will necessitate extensive restoration work over several months. President Emmanuel Macron assured the public that the culprits would be apprehended and the stolen treasures recovered as a large-scale search operation was launched.
Recently, investigators disclosed that over 150 DNA traces, including fingerprints, were left behind by the robbers at the scene. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau expressed optimism in swiftly identifying the perpetrators through forensic analysis. She highlighted the significance of the DNA samples found on various items abandoned by the thieves at the crime scene.
Authorities are racing against time to recover the stolen jewelry before any attempts to alter or dispose of the items. The Louvre, a popular tourist destination that attracts millions of visitors annually, has a history of security breaches, including the infamous 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa and the unrecovered 1998 theft of Le Chemin de Sevres by Camille Corot.