French prosecutors examine 150 DNA samples and fingerprints from Louvre jewel theft, with stolen items valued at $102 million.
PARIS: French investigators are currently analysing dozens of DNA samples and fingerprints collected following this weekend’s daylight jewel theft from the Louvre museum.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed to the Ouest France local newspaper that up to 150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other traces have been identified from the crime scene.
She emphasised that analysing these samples represents an immediate priority for investigators.
Beccuau expressed hope that results expected within the coming days would generate significant investigative leads.
She noted that these forensic findings would prove particularly valuable if the culprits possessed existing criminal records.
The thieves executed their operation on Sunday by climbing the extendable ladder of a stolen moving truck.
Using specialised cutting equipment, they successfully breached a first-floor gallery containing valuable jewels.
During their escape down the ladder onto waiting scooters, the thieves dropped a diamond-and-emerald-studded crown.
Despite this mishap, they successfully escaped with eight pieces of jewellery valued at approximately $102 million.
The Louvre’s director acknowledged on Wednesday that thieves exploited a blind spot in the museum’s external wall security surveillance.
Beccuau confirmed that public and private security cameras elsewhere provided detectives with valuable tracking footage.
She revealed this footage enabled authorities to monitor the thieves’ movements throughout Paris and surrounding regions.
The prosecutor expressed optimism that extensive media coverage would complicate the robbers’ ability to move the stolen jewels.
Beccuau stated her hopeful belief that the criminals would hesitate to transport such highly publicised items.
The director of the Drouot auction house voiced concerns on Sunday about the jewels’ potential fate.
He feared the distinctive pieces would be dismantled into individual gems and precious metal components for resale.
The auction house director explained the stolen jewellery would remain completely unsellable in its current recognisable form.
Among the stolen items was an emerald-and-diamond necklace originally gifted by Napoleon Bonaparte to his wife Empress Marie-Louise.
Thieves also took a diadem previously belonging to Empress Eugenie featuring nearly 2,000 diamonds.
Sunday’s brazen theft has generated international headlines and sparked security debates across French cultural institutions.
Less than twenty-four hours after the high-profile Louvre break-in, another museum in eastern France reported stolen gold and silver coins. – AFP
