By Vivian Song

 

PARIS, 26 Oct. - (ANA) - Two men have been arrested over the Louvre Museum theft which saw eight of France’s priceless crown jewels stolen.

 

The suspects, both in their 30s, were identified by traces of their DNA that were found at the museum, though the stolen jewellery has not yet been recovered, local media reported.

 

One of the suspects was arrested at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Saturday night while attempting to board a flight following last week’s seven-minute heist.

 

The suspect was reportedly caught trying to board a flight to Algeria, Le Parisien reported, while the second was preparing to leave for Mali, according to Le Figaro.

 

Both of the suspects are originally from Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris.

 

The pair are allegedly part of the masked gang of burglars who broke into the Louvre museum last Sunday before stealing £76m’s worth of jewellery.

 

The suspects were already known to police, who described them as “seasoned burglars”. They are now in the custody of the Banditry Repression Brigade in Paris’s 17th arrondissement, where they face questioning.

 

Police are continuing their search for the other two suspects and are investigating whether the theft was orchestrated by a traditional crime ring or a network that specialises in art trafficking.

 

In a letter to Le Figaro, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau criticised initial reports that shared leaked details about the arrests.

 

“I deeply deplore the hasty disclosure of this information by informed persons, without consideration for the investigation,” she wrote.

 

“This revelation can only harm the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators involved in the search for both the stolen jewels and all the criminals. It is too early to provide any details.”

 

But on X, France’s interior minister offered his “warmest congratulations” to the investigators on the latest developments, who he said had been working tirelessly on the case.

 

“The investigations must continue in accordance with the secrecy of the investigation under the authority of the specialised interregional court of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office. We will continue with the same determination. Let’s keep going,” Laurent Nuñez said.

 

The arrests came less than a week after four thieves broke into the world’s most visited museum in a daylight heist that lasted just seven minutes.

 

Using a truck-mounted lift and angle grinders, the thieves made off with eight pieces of historic Napoleonic jewellery including tiaras, necklaces and earrings. During their getaway, the gang dropped a ninth item, a diamond and emerald crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, that was recovered by police.

 

Police were able to recover 150 traces of DNA samples from the collection of items that the group left behind, including a scooter helmet, blowtorch, walkie-talkie, yellow vest, and a blanket.

 

“More than 150 samples of DNA, papillary and other traces were taken,” Ms Beccuau said on Friday.

 

“The analyses require time limits, even if they are a priority for the labs. We are expecting feedback in the coming days, which may be able to provide us with leads, especially if the perpetrators were on file.”

 

Ms Beccuau also confirmed that police were able to use CCTV to follow the gang’s movements on two Yamaha TMax scooters, adding that video surveillance from public and private cameras “made it possible to follow their route in Paris and in neighbouring departments.”

 

On Sunday, Mr Nuñez rejected a proposal to install a police station inside the Louvre following calls from the museum’s director.

 

“I’m against it. If we start with the Louvre, we’ll put them everywhere,” Mr Nuñez said in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, a weekly newspaper.

 

“The current police station is right next to the Louvre. As soon as there was an alert, the police were there within three minutes.”

 

Mr Nuñez said a police station in the museum “would not have changed anything,” pointing out that the tourist-saturated area is the most heavily policed in Paris.

 

On Friday, part of the museum’s remaining jewellery collection was transferred to the Bank of France, the national central bank for France, under police escort.

 

The collection is now in a vault buried 85 feet underground, which also stores France’s gold reserves and other national treasures, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebooks worth an estimated €600m (£524m), noted Le Figaro.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/26 October 2025 - - -