Are you at the edge of your seat, waiting to hear the names of the criminals who stole the famous jewels from “the capital of art” in France? Unfortunately, treasures worth $101 million have not yet been recovered. But the investigation is underway, and many people hope to see all four culprits.
As you probably remember, the theft occurred in broad daylight, causing the Louvre’s security measures to come under fire. Investigators claim it took the thieves just ten minutes to smash a window, break into two display cases, and steal eight pieces of jewelry, including custom earrings, a brooch, a tiara, and some necklaces. The thieves used an electric ladder mounted on a truck to exit the same way they entered. They then fled on powerful scooters driven by their accomplices.
Queen Eugénie’s crown (the 9th item) was dropped during their escape and was found damaged. According to Olivier Gabet, one of the Louvre museum officials, it can still be restored even despite structural deformity and some of its 2,000 diamonds missing.
Four suspects in the robbery have already been charged by the prosecutor’s office in Paris. Three people are accused of direct involvement in the museum robbery, while a fourth, a woman, is accused of aiding the others.
The thieves gained access to the Louvre using a furniture lift — a weakness exposed by the museum’s limited perimeter surveillance, its director acknowledged. Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images.
Each of the four led the conspiracy. One suspect remains at large. A 34-year-old Algerian citizen, who had lived in France for 15 years, was arrested. He was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport while attempting to board a one-way flight to Algeria. A 39-year-old Frenchman was detained near his home in the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers. Both men partially admitted their involvement in the robbery.
A 37-year-old man was arrested along with his partner on suspicion of helping the four people with the escape. Naturally, both deny any involvement in the theft. The 37- and 39-year-old men already have had traffic violations, and were charged with another theft in 2015.
The Algerian suspect had small troubles with the law in the past and worked as a rubbish collector and deliveryman (was basically in between jobs). The French suspect, who had committed 15 crimes, also worked as a driver and was involved in a theft during which he crashed his car into an ATM. Ten of the eleven previous convictions of the arrested couple were related to theft.
At a press briefing, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said two suspects had partly confessed to the theft. Abdul Saboor/Reuters.
The main discoveries are attributed to DNA analysis. Luckily, because most of the suspects have committed crimes before, their samples were already in the police’s files. According to Officer Beccuau, the 37-year-old man was definitely present at the crime scene, as there were a lot of his DNA traces, while his partner barely had any at the scene.
Investigators continue to search for clues and gather evidence. The suspects’ lawyers have declined to comment, advising them to handle the case calmly, despite the media attention. The Olertis team continues to wait for the outcomes of the investigation, hoping to see the stolen jewelry fully intact, no matter whether the police will find real criminals or not. After all, who would want to see a couple of centuries-old jewels ruined, only to be melted and sold on black market? Let us hope for the best, meanwhile watching how the investigation would unfold.
