Two suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially admit’ involvement, prosecutor says

Two men arrested in connection with the theft from the Louvre two weeks ago have “partially admitted” their involvement in the brazen heist, according to officials.

The couple in custody are suspected of being the two who used power tools to break into the Apollo museum gallery and steal some of the French crown jewels.

Artifacts worth 88 million euros (£76 million; $102 million) were taken from the world’s most visited museum on October 19 when four thieves broke into the building in broad daylight.

Paris prosecutor Laure Bequo said the jewels had not yet been found and the gang involved could be larger than the four people caught on video surveillance.

The two men, both in their 30s, have criminal records and were identified through DNA found during an investigation, Bequau said.

One of the men was arrested as he tried to board a one-way flight to Algeria, but Bequo said the other man had no plans to leave France, despite earlier media reports.

There is currently no evidence to suggest the theft was an inside job, confirming that accomplices did not work at the museum, she added.

But Bequo said he hasn’t ruled out the possibility that it could involve more than the four suspects caught on surveillance video, including the people who expect to receive the stolen jewelry.

“I want to continue to hope that (the jewels) will be found and can be returned to the Louvre and more broadly to the nation,” she said.

The crown, which once belonged to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was dropped by the thieves as they fled. Damage to the crown is still being assessed, Bequau added.

On Sunday, when the arrests were made, the prosecutor criticized the “premature disclosure” of information in the caseadding that this hampered efforts to recover the jewels and find the thieves.

On the day of the robbery, the thieves arrived at 09:30 (08:30 GMT), just after the museum opened to visitors, Bekwau told the conference on Wednesday.

The suspects arrived in a stolen mechanical lift mounted on a vehicle to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) through a balcony near the Seine River. The men used a circular saw to break open the display cases that housed the jewelry.

She said the thieves were inside for four minutes and fled on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38 before switching to cars and heading east.

No one was threatened during the action, she told reporters.

Following the incident, security measures around French cultural institutions have been stepped up.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France since the heist. They will now be stored in the bank’s most secure vault, 26 meters (85 feet) below the ground floor of its elegant headquarters in central Paris.