According to a Paris prosecutor, two individuals involved in the Louvre jewel robbery have confessed partially and are suspected to be the culprits who broke into the renowned museum. Laure Beccuau disclosed that the pair are facing provisional charges for theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
The theft, which occurred on October 19 and lasted less than eight minutes, resulted in the disappearance of jewels valued at around $143 million Canadian dollars, shocking the global audience.
One of the suspects, a 34-year-old Algerian citizen residing in France since 2010, was apprehended at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday, intending to fly to Algeria without a return ticket. He lived in Aubervilliers, a northern suburb of Paris, and was primarily known to authorities for traffic violations, as stated by Beccuau.
The second suspect, aged 39, was arrested at his residence in Aubervilliers on the same night. Beccuau mentioned that there is no indication of his planned departure from the country. The individual had a history of thefts, and his DNA was identified on one of the glass cases housing the stolen jewels and on items left by the thieves.
Prosecutors had until late Wednesday to formally charge, release, or request an extension for the suspects.
Jewels remain missing
The stolen jewels have not been located yet, according to Beccuau.
She cautioned that these jewels are now unsellable, and anyone purchasing them would be complicit in concealing stolen property.
Beccuau emphasized, “It’s still time to give them back.”
Earlier on Wednesday, French authorities acknowledged significant vulnerabilities in the Louvre’s security systems, transforming the rapid daytime theft into a national audit of France’s safeguarding of its cultural assets.
Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure informed Senate members that outdated systems and delayed upgrades had left weak points in the museum’s security.
He remarked, “A technological upgrade has not occurred,” highlighting that portions of the video network are still analog, leading to low-quality images that are slow to share in real-time.
The long-awaited renovation, a $93 million US endeavor necessitating approximately 60 kilometers of new cabling, is not expected to conclude before 2029–2030, Faure added.
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