Two arrests a week after the Louvre break-in – but there's no trace of the jewels. Two suspected accomplices are still on the run. Concerns remain that diamonds will be removed and the gold melted down.
One week after the break-in at the Louvre Museum in Paris, investigators have reported their first success: Two men have been arrested. One of the suspects was detained at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport, and the second was arrested in the Paris region, as Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed to the German Press Agency.
Both are reportedly in custody for gang-related theft. The arrests took place on Saturday evening around 10 p.m. Two other suspected accomplices are still on the run.
According to information from the broadcaster BFMTV, the two men, both in their 30s, are already known to the police. As the broadcaster France Info reported, DNA traces found at the crime scene allegedly led directly to the suspects. According to"Paris Match," the man arrested at the airport apparently intended to fly to Algeria. Public prosecutor Beccuau regretted the hasty disclosure of information by third parties, which was detrimental to the investigation.
During the break-in on Sunday a week ago, four unknown perpetrators stole jewelry and jewels with an estimated value of around 88 million euros. The thieves broke into two display cases and stole eight precious pieces of jewelry belonging to former queens and empresses – including gemstone-encrusted tiaras, necklaces, earrings, and brooches.
According to police, the robbery was meticulously planned: Two men climbed into the Galerie d'Apollon using a cherry picker, while the other two secured their escape on scooters. At the scene, they left behind various items, including helmets, a welding machine, a yellow safety vest, and cutting discs, some of which were doused with gasoline—and around 150 DNA traces.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised the investigators' work on Platform X and promised determination in further investigations."Libération" quoted the politician as saying that the loot is unfortunately often taken abroad. He hopes this is not the case here and remains confident. Experts fear that diamonds and precious stones will be removed and the gold melted down.
Only a fraction of stolen art ever returns
Experts estimate the recovery rate at approximately eight percent of all stolen art objects. A look at previous art thefts reveals that a large portion of the loot disappeared forever. This includes a painting by the renowned French landscape painter Jean-Baptiste Corot, stolen from the Louvre in 1998, as well as five works by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani, and Léger from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in Paris.
One of the most spectacular break-ins occurred in 1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Thirteen works valued at $500 million (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.) were stolen – and never recovered – despite a $10 million reward offered by the FBI. Empty frames have hung there ever since.
The spectacular break-in at the Louvre also sparked a debate about the museum's security measures. The Louvre is considered the most visited museum in the world. Leonardo da Vinci's world-famous Mona Lisa is also on display there. The museum has reopened to the public since Wednesday – with the exception of the Galerie d'Apollon, where the theft occurred.
dpa/cvb
