Two men have been arrested in connection with the Louvre heist that saw historic jewelry worth an estimated $100 million snatched in broad daylight.
The burglary took place on October 19, hours after the world’s largest museum opened its doors for the day, and visitors were already in the building.
The news of the arrests has been slammed by Parisian authorities, who dubbed it an unintentional leak and claimed that it was likely to hamper their investigation.
Two of the burglars involved in the crime are still at large.
Paris authorities are unhappy about the news of the arrests getting out
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Speaking to members of the French press on October 26, exactly a week after the thieves pulled off the daring heist, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau delivered an official statement saying that the arrests were carried out by the Paris Brigade for the Repression of Banditry, a special division of police.
She confirmed that the captures took place earlier that night (Saturday) but voiced disappointment at the prior leak of the same information.
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“I strongly regret the premature disclosure of this information by informed individuals, without consideration for the investigation.”
“This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the hundred investigators involved in the search for both the stolen jewels and [the effort to] apprehend all of the perpetrators,” the attorney continued, via Newsweek.
The two arrested burglars are said to be from a particularly dangerous part of the French capital
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While surrendering this information to the public, Beccuau avoided specifics—details that the news outlet, Le Parisien, claims it is privy to.
Said Paris-based publication claimed that law enforcement authorities captured two individuals, one of whom was at Charles de Gaulle airport, attempting to flee France to the French-speaking territory of Algeria in Africa.
The other was captured at an undisclosed location later the same evening.
It has been noted that the two are from the Seine-Saint-Denis area, known to be a particularly unsafe suburb north east of Paris.
The arrests follow reports that the Louvre heist was an inside job
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Both captured men are known burglars, and the remaining two heisters are still at large.
The news of these arrests comes a day after the UK’s Daily Telegraph reported that it may have been an inside job.
Quoting an anonymous source, the outlet wrote:
“There is digital forensic evidence that shows there was co-operation with one of the museum’s security guards and the thieves.”
“Sensitive information was passed on about the museum’s security, which is how they were aware of the breach.”
Speculations favor the theory that crime was perpetrated under the direction of a shadowy jewel collector
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At the time, it was noted that while police were closing in on the robbers, there was little confidence that the jewels would be recovered, as it was suspected that they had already been dismantled and sold.
According to the outlet, the word on the street is that it was not a crime opportunity but likely an orchestration by a single wealthy collector.
“We’re looking at the hypothesis of organized crime,” Beccuau told local outlet BFM TV.
Footage of the thieves’ getaway is making its rounds on social media
Grainy footage has since emerged depicting the robbers making their getaway down a basket lift.
One of the figures can be seen moving around nervously as the construction carried them down to ground level at a ponderous pace.
Shortly after, a black scooter can be seen zooming away.
The latter is congruent with initial reports that the heisters escaped on mopeds.
Another robbery occurred a day later, in which a collection of 2,000 gold and silver coins was raided
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Failing to garner as much publicity was the robbery of another museum in northern France.
Reports indicate that “several gold and silver coins were stolen from the museum on the day it was shut.”
The crime was only discovered the next day when staff returned for work the next day.
“The display case that protected it was found broken on the ground. The Museum’s teams are currently making a precise inventory of the items that they will hand over to law enforcement,” the facility confirmed in a statement.
Netizens cannot wait to see the suspects
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