Suspects have been arrested in connection with the robbery of the crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris last Sunday, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, confirming earlier media reports.
Paris prosecutor Laure Becqueau did not say how many suspects were detained, but media spoke of two people.
Bekuu also lamented the fact that the information was leaked prematurely, saying it could have hindered the work of many investigators “mobilizing to recover the stolen jewelry and apprehend all criminals.”
He said detectives were able to trace the thieves through public and private security cameras “in Paris and surrounding areas.”
audacious robbery
le parisien The newspaper said one suspect was arrested at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to leave the country on a plane to Algeria on Saturday evening and another was arrested later in the evening in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb north of Paris.
The newspaper said both men were in their 30s and were known to police.
A week earlier, four masked men broke into the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, the room that housed the remaining crown jewels of France, and stole eight jewels belonging to French queens and empresses. The robbery took place over a span of eight minutes.
The total value of the stolen goods was estimated at €88 million ($102 million).
On Friday, prosecutors said investigators had recovered more than 150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other clues from the scene.
Edited by: Jennifer Cimino Gonzalez