French authorities detain two men suspected of involvement in the Louvre jewel theft, with one arrested at Paris airport before boarding flight.
PARIS: French authorities have detained two men suspected of being part of the four-man crew who stole precious jewellery from the world-famous Louvre museum last week, two sources close to the case said Sunday, confirming media reports.
One of the suspects was apprehended around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a plane abroad, French media Le Parisien and Paris Match reported.
The second was arrested not long after in the Paris region, according to Le Parisien.
Dozens of investigators had been tasked with tracking down the thieves who successfully robbed the Louvre in broad daylight on October 19, making off with royal jewels worth an estimated $102 million in just seven minutes.
The robbers had clambered up the extendable ladder of a stolen movers’ truck and, using cutting equipment, broke into a first-floor gallery.
They dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown as they fled down the ladder and onto scooters, but managed to steal eight other pieces, include an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon Bonaparte gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.
The brazen theft has made headlines across the world and sparked a debate in France about the security of cultural institutions. – AFP
