French Paris prosecutor said Sunday that the thieves who stole historically valuable jewelry worth $102 million from the Louvre Museum last month were ordinary criminals rather than professional robbers associated with organized crime groups.
Two weeks ago on a Sunday morning, two men used an industrial lift to climb to the Louvre’s second floor, smashed a window, entered an exhibition hall, used an angle grinder to break open display cases, stole the priceless jewelry, and then fled the scene on two motorcycles driven by accomplices. The entire robbery took less than seven minutes.
Authorities reported that three out of the four suspected robbers are in custody, but the jewelry remains missing. The prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated that these suspects are not professional thieves but rather ordinary criminals from economically disadvantaged areas in northern Paris.
Beccuau told France Info, “This is not your usual daily crime… but it’s not the type of crime we typically associate with the upper echelons of organized crime.”
She added that the police have arrested four individuals, including the girlfriend of a suspected robber, but these suspects do not fit the typical profile of professional criminals capable of planning complex operations.
“These individuals are clearly locals. They almost all live in Seine-Saint-Denis,” Beccuau said, referring to a low-income area in northern Paris.
According to French media speculations, the robbers were amateurish as they left behind the most precious stolen item — Empress Eugenie’s crown made of gold, emeralds, and diamonds, on the scene, along with tools and did not set the industrial truck on fire before fleeing.
A week after the robbery, the police arrested two men suspected of breaking into the Louvre: a 34-year-old Algerian who has been living in France since 2010, and a 39-year-old man with a history of serious theft offenses.
Beccuau stated last week that these two individuals reside in Aubervilliers in northern Paris and have “partially confessed” to their involvement in the Louvre robbery.
The other two suspects — a 37-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman — were arrested on October 29 and indicted on November 1.
Based on DNA evidence found in the industrial truck, the police believe that the 37-year-old man arrested on October 29 is also part of the four-member group that carried out the robbery.
She noted that this suspect has 11 criminal records, including traffic violations, serious theft, and attempting to illegally obtain money from ATMs.
She added that this man is in a close relationship with the arrested 38-year-old woman and has children together, and he was convicted in 2015 for the same robbery case as one of the other two arrested men.
The woman’s DNA traces were also found in the industrial truck, but Beccuau stated that these DNA traces seem to have been transferred through other individuals or items placed in the vehicle later.
The prosecutor’s office stated on Saturday that both individuals denied involvement in the robbery.
When asked if the authorities believe three out of the four robbers have been captured, Beccuau said, “At least one person is still at large.” She did not rule out the possibility of other accomplices.
The prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday that three other individuals were arrested on October 29 alongside this couple but have since been released and not charged.