Two men arrested in connection with the daring jewel heist at France’s Louvre Museum earlier this month will be charged with theft and criminal conspiracy, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
Authorities said dozens of detectives have been tracking down four suspects who used a cherry-picker truck and cutting tools to break into the museum’s first-floor Apollo Gallery, escaping with jewelry valued at more than $102 million.
The two men, both detained in the Paris region, are believed to have entered the museum during the heist, while their accomplices waited outside, the prosecutor said.
One suspect, a 34-year-old Algerian national living in France, was identified after investigators found his DNA on one of the getaway scooters. The second, a 39-year-old man from Aubervilliers, a suburb north of Paris, was an unlicensed taxi driver. Both men were already known to police for previous theft-related offenses.
Authorities arrested the first suspect at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he was about to board a flight to Algeria with no return ticket, while the second suspect was caught near his home. Investigators said there was no indication that he intended to flee the country.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said detectives have examined 150 DNA samples, fingerprints, and other evidence, and are reviewing footage from public and private security cameras that traced the suspects’ movements across Paris and nearby regions.
During the heist, the thieves, wearing balaclavas and high-visibility vests, carried out the operation in broad daylight before making their escape.
While investigators have confirmed the involvement of four main perpetrators, Beccuau said authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a wider network, including a financial backer or intended recipients of the stolen jewels.
