French authorities have arrested two suspects involved in the audacious $100 million heist at the Louvre Museum.
The suspects were apprehended as they were planning their escape to Africa, while two others remain at large. According to the Paris newspaper Le Parisien, the suspects were arrested on Saturday night.
One suspect was nabbed while trying to board a flight to Algeria from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, as per French news outlet. The other was arrested shortly thereafter in Paris.
The suspects hail from Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris. They were detained as part of an investigation into “organized gang robbery” and “conspiracy to commit a crime.” The police were alerted about one of the suspects’ plan to leave the country, which led to his apprehension at the airport.
Both suspects have a history of robberies and are believed to have executed the high-profile heist on commission.
The heist was carried out in under four minutes, with the thieves absconding with eight pieces from France's Crown Jewels, valued at approximately $100 million.
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The stolen jewelry has not yet been recovered. The identities of the other two suspects or the mastermind behind the heist have not been publicly disclosed.
The two arrested men are currently in custody at police headquarters where they can be held for up to 96 hours without charges being filed.
In the wake of the heist, security measures have been ramped up around France's cultural institutions. The French Crown Jewels have been relocated to an ultra-secure Bank of France vault.
The heist underscores the vulnerability of even the most secure cultural institutions to organized crime. The audacity of the theft, carried out in less than four minutes, has sent shockwaves through the international art community.
The incident has prompted a review of security measures at cultural institutions across France, leading to increased security and the relocation of the French Crown Jewels to a more secure location.
The ongoing investigation and the arrests made so far highlight the determination of the French authorities to bring the culprits to justice.
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