Two men were arrested on Saturday night in connection with the theft of crown jewels worth $102 million from Paris’ Louvre Museum, authorities said.
The jewels were stolen last Sunday, as previously reported by Deseret News. Investigators believe at least four people were involved in the heist, though only two are currently in custody.
The stolen pieces were part of the Apollo Gallery, which houses France’s royal and imperial crown jewels. The gallery, named for the Greek god of light, also features pieces by artists like Delacroix and Le Brun.
One of the suspects was apprehended at Charles de Gaulle airport en route to Algeria while the other was preparing to travel to Mali, police sources told French media. Under French law, both can be detained and questioned for up to 96 hours.
The thieves made off with eight historic pieces, including an emerald necklace and earrings once belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, Empress Marie-Louise; Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and corsage-bow brooch; and a necklace and one earring connected to the 19th century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, according to The Associated Press.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has not confirmed whether any jewels had been recovered.
Former FBI art crime investigator Robert Wittman told NBC News the thieves may have had good reason to keep the jewels intact instead of destroying them immediately.
“In places like France, and Europe, they can use those to get out of jail free,” he said. Without the jewels they are left with no “bargaining tools” should they be arrested.
Investigation and arrests
According to French media reports, DNA discovered at the scene of the robbery led to the police identifying one of the suspects. One police official said DNA played a role in arrests. Forensic experts analyzed more than 150 samples collected from the crime scene throughout the week.
Though the heist was executed quickly, thieves taking less than eight minutes to get in and out of the famous museum, investigators found several items left behind.
“They left gloves, a walkie-talkie, a vest and a can of gasoline,” spokesman for the French police union CFTC, Axel Ronde, said in an interview Monday.
“And that allowed my colleagues from the forensic team to find these DNA traces,” he added.
Ronde confirmed both suspects are men in their 30s from Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris, and were already known to police for previous jewelry store thefts. One of the men was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport 40 minutes before his flight was set to depart, per NBC News.
Following the heist, The Louvre transferred a few of its “most precious jewels” for safekeeping to the Bank of France, where they will be stored in the most secure vault, 85 feet below the bank’s ground floor, according to The Associated Press.