Five more arrests in Louvre jewel heist investigation

Five more people have been arrested in the investigation into the theft of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum, but the treasures remain missing, the Paris prosecutor said on Thursday.

The five were detained late Wednesday in separate police operations in Paris and surrounding areas, including the Seine-Saint-Denis region, prosecutor Laure Beccuau told RTL radio.

She did not give their identities or other details.

One is suspected of being part of the four-person team that robbed the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery in broad daylight on October 19, the prosecutor said.

Two other members of the team were arrested on Sunday and given preliminary charges on Wednesday of criminal conspiracy and theft committed by an organised gang.

Both partially admitted their involvement, according to the prosecutor.

“Searches last night and overnight did not allow us to find the goods,” Ms Beccuau said.

It took thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels valued at 88 million euros (£77.5 million), shocking the world.

The robbers forced open a window, cut into cases with power tools and fled with eight pieces of the French crown jewels.

French police have acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences, turning the dazzling daylight theft into a national reckoning over the way France protects its treasures.

One of those who has been charged is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said.

He was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.

He was living in a suburb north of Paris, Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences. His DNA was found on one of the scooters used by robbers to leave the scene, she said.

The other suspect, 39, was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers. The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed and on items the thieves left behind, she added.

Video surveillance cameras showed there were at least four people involved, Ms Beccuau said.

Four of the suspects arrived on a truck equipped with a freight lift that two of them used to climb up to the museum’s window.

The four of them left on two motor scooters along the Seine river towards eastern Paris, where they had some other vehicles parked, she said.

Ms Beccuau said nothing suggests the robbers had accomplices within the museum’s staff.

She made a plea on Wednesday to those who have the jewels: “These jewels are now, of course, unsellable. Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. There’s still time to give them back.”