 "A woman makes a selfie in front of the facade and the window where thieves entered the Louvre museum last Sunday. AP")
Almost a week after four thieves carried out what is being described as the ‘heist of the century’ at Paris’ Louvre museum, fleeing with jewellery worth more than €88 million, authorities have made the first arrests in the case that exposed critical security weaknesses at the popular tourist site and wounded French pride.
On Saturday (October 25), two men suspected to be part of the heist gang were arrested and taken into police custody, with one of them being detained while attempting to flee the country from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
What do we know of the arrested? How did the authorities corner them and nab them?
Who’s been arrested in the Louvre heist?
Two men have been arrested following the brazen robbery at the Louvre Museum, which saw thieves escape with priceless jewellery, including part of the French crown jewels.
According to reports, both men are believed to be in their thirties and were known to the police. Additionally, as per French daily paper Le Parisien, both men are originally from Seine-Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris.
One was preparing to board a flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport with some of the stolen items from the Louvre. However, he was arrested during a passport check before he could board an evening flight to Algeria.
The other suspect was arrested later in the evening in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb north of Paris. He had apparently planned to travel to Mali, in west Africa. Le Monde has learned that one of the suspects is a French national, while the second holds both French and Algerian citizenship.
The two are now in pre-trial detention as part of investigations into the “organised theft” and “criminal conspiracy to commit a crime”. They can be held for up to 96 hours.
While Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed the arrests on Saturday, she expressed concern about the way in which the information was released.
She said: “I deeply deplore the hasty disclosure of this information by informed individuals, without consideration for the investigation.
“This revelation can only harm the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators involved in the search for both the stolen jewellery and all the perpetrators.”
Meanwhile, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised police for their efforts. “I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to the investigators who worked tirelessly as I asked them to and who always had my full confidence,” he said. “The investigations must continue while respecting the confidentiality of the inquiry.”
“Let’s keep going,” he added.
He also appealed to the media not to reveal further developments that might hinder the detectives’ hunt for the stolen jewels and the organised crime gang believed to have masterminded the heist.
How did the arrests take place?
Shortly after news broke of the audacious heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris last Saturday, investigators began an operation to nab those responsible and potentially retrieve the French jewels stolen. In fact, an expert called it “one of the biggest manhunts in French history”.
The investigation is being carried out by a specialised unit known as the BRB (Brigade de répression du banditisme), an anti-organised crime squad which often deals with high-profile robberies, including the 2016 Kim Kardashian robbery at her Paris apartment.
Authorities from the BRB began examining video evidence, telephone records and forensic evidence, while also speaking to informants. It was forensic analysis of the items that the thieves abandoned during the heist that led the authorities to the two now in custody. According to a report in The Times, gloves, a hi-vis vest, a motorbike helmet, angle grinders and other power tools, a blowtorch and a walkie-talkie were recovered from the scene of the crime following which more than 150 samples, DNA traces and fingerprints were recovered.
How the Louvre heist unfolded?
The two men arrested on Saturday are believed to be part of the four-member gang that who executed the seven-minute heist at the Louvre a week ago. They arrived at the museum at 9.30 am local time just before it was to open to the public.
Then using a vehicle-mounted lift, they gained access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine. Two of the thieves entered by cutting through the window with power tools. They then threatened the guards, who evacuated the premises, and cut through the glass of two display cases containing jewels.
The thieves made away with a total of eight objects — a sapphire diadem (a jewelled headband), necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense. They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugenie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship - were also stolen.
However, they dropped a crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III. They then fled the scene on scooters, exposing many security weaknesses at the museum.
In fact, the director of the Louvre museum admitted there was inadequate security camera coverage of the outside walls. “There are some perimeter cameras, but they are ageing,” Laurence des Cars told senators after Sunday’s heist in broad daylight. Coverage “is highly insufficient,” she conceded.
“It clearly does not cover all the facades of the Louvre, and unfortunately, on the side of the Apollo Gallery, the only camera installed is directed westward and therefore did not cover the balcony involved in the break-in,” she added.
But where are the stolen jewels?
With the arrest of the two men suspected to be involved in the Louvre heist, the attention has once again shifted to the possibility of recovering the stolen jewels . Earlier, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said she had “a small hope” the jewels could still be recovered and was “optimistic” about the investigation’s outcome.
And with the arrest, there’s renewed hope of retrieving them. As Dutch art historian Arthur Brand told DW, “It’s great news that within a week these two suspects have been caught. I already suspected it because DNA was left at the scene.”
He further added that the French police were doing an “amazing job”.
When asked how likely it is that the arrests will lead investigators to the stolen jewels, Brand stated that it depended on the two persons in custody.
Some other experts have feared that the stolen jewels will be sold in the black market or will be recut significantly and no longer identifiable. American art historian and lawyer Erin Thompson said the gems from the Louvre might end up in one of the world’s major stone-cutting centres, such as New York, Antwerp or Thailand.
Meanwhile, as authorities continue their race against time to find the stolen French crown jewels, the Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France. On Friday, a secret police escort oversaw the transfer of some of the remaining jewels to the Bank, 500 metres from the museum.
They will now be stored in the Bank’s most secure vault, known as the Souterraine, 26 metres below the ground floor of its elegant headquarters in central Paris. The vault is home to 90 per cent of France’s gold reserves, as well as the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci and other national treasures. Its contents are worth an estimated €600 million.
With inputs from agencies