Parisian police arrested two suspects connected to the robbery of crown jewels at the Louvre museum, a local prosecutor announced on Sunday, exactly a week after the infamous heist at the most visited museum in the world.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccauau told the press that the suspects were arrested on Saturday evening. One of them was caught while trying to flee the country through Charles de Gaulle Airport.
She did not mention whether the Napoleonic crown jewels were retrieved during the arrest.
How Were They Arrested?
French publication Le Monde cited information from Beccuau, as reported by various media outlets, including Le Parisien and Paris Match, stating that one of the suspects arrested was a French national, while the other, who was caught at the airport, holds French and Algerian citizenship.
The latter was booked on a flight to Algeria during the time of the arrest.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that the other suspect was en route to Mali.
The arresting officers allegedly used the DNA found at the scene of the crime to identify one of the suspects.
The four-member gang left several items while escaping the crime scene, including a high-vis jacket and gloves.
Since two of the suspects are now in custody, two more are still being chased by the authorities.
Details of the Crime
The robbers allegedly arrived at the museum around 09:30am (08:30 GMT), just as the visitors started to come in. They came with a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to get access to the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) through a balcony near the River Seine.
Two of them reportedly entered by cutting through the museum's windows using power tools, then they threatened the guards on duty, who immediately evacuated the area.
The thieves then broke the glass display containing the jewels.
The French media previously reported that one of the three areas in the museum that the robbers ransacked had no CCTV cameras.
Museum director Laurence des Cars earlier told French senators that the Louvre's CCTV was 'weak and aging.'
She also admitted that the sole camera that monitors the exterior wall of the museum where the robbers entered was pointing away from the first-floor balcony leading to the Gallery of Apollo, where the jewels are displayed.
'We failed these jewels,' Des Cars stated, adding that no one was safe from 'brutal criminals - not even the Louvre.'
Changes are Badly Needed in the Museum's Security
French ministers denied the lapses in security in the museum, but Des Cars admitted that their resources were lacking.
She mentioned the challenges of securing the world's most visited museum, especially since it houses some of the most priceless art pieces in history.
She claimed that the surveillance cameras outside the museum were 'very unsatisfactory,' and those inside were too old to adapt to today's technologies.
The museum director, who started working at the Louvre since 2021, said that budget challenges and the minimal investment in security despite the huge volume of visitors annually made the job of protecting the museum and its contents very difficult.
French cultural institutions started to strengthen their security measures after the robbery incident at the Louvre.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
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