Police in France have arrested two criminals involved in the robbery of the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris. This was reported by Le Figaro.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said that one of them was caught at Roissy airport as he tried to board a flight to Algeria. The operation was carried out at around 10 p.m. by the anti-banditry brigade (BRB), which is leading the investigation, with the support of border police. The second suspect was arrested by the Paris judicial police in Saint-Denis. According to police, eight jewels from the French royal family’s collection, worth a total of 88 million euros, had not yet been found as of Sunday morning.
After the high-profile robbery, which revealed serious shortcomings in the museum’s security system, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunes expressed confidence in a quick solution to the case.
The criminals left a lot of evidence in the Napoleon Gallery, including more than 150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other traces. Paris prosecutor Laura Becqua said she remained “optimistic” about the investigation. Police are currently searching for possible accomplices and expect to arrest them soon.
The robbery took place on the morning of October 19 and lasted less than ten minutes. The attackers stole nine jewels belonging to Napoleon and Empress Eugenie. So far, only two have been found — Eugenie’s damaged crown and one other item.
After the incident, it became known that an unpublished report by the French Court of Auditors had already mentioned security problems at the Louvre. After the robbery, the museum moved some of its jewels to the Bank of France for safekeeping.
