Suspects in Louvre heist arrested

PARIS Two individuals were arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris Louvre museum justice and police executives mentioned Sunday a week after the heist that stunned the world and sparked a massive manhunt The Paris prosecutor reported that investigators made arrests Saturday evening adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier shared that two persons had been arrested and taken into custody Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether any jewels had been recovered A police official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing episode reported The Associated Press that two men in their s both known to police were taken into custody He disclosed one suspect was arrested as he attempted to board a plane bound for Algeria The official added that one of the individuals was identified through DNA traces Beccuau explained earlier this week that forensics experts were analyzing samples at the scene The defendants can be held in police custody for up to hours Thieves took less than eight minutes last Sunday morning to steal jewels valued at million from the world s most-visited museum French bureaucrats described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre s fa ade forced open a window smashed display cases and fled The museum s director called the matter a terrible failure Beccuau stated investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests In her message she rued the premature leak of information saying it could hinder the work of over investigators mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators Beccuau reported further details will be unveiled after the subjects custody period ends French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised the investigators who have worked tirelessly just as I requested them to and who have inevitably had my full confidence The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale The thieves slipped in and out making off with certain of France s crown jewels a cultural wound that chosen compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in The thieves escaped with a total of eight objects including a sapphire diadem necklace and single earring from a set linked to th-century queens Marie-Am lie 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 Eug nie s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship were also part of the loot One piece Eug nie s emerald-set imperial crown with more than diamonds was later exposed outside the museum damaged but repairable News of the arrests was met with relief by Louvre visitors and passersby on Sunday It s key for our heritage A week later it does feel a bit late we wonder how this could even happen but it was key that the guys were caught explained Freddy Jacquemet I think the main thing now is whether they can recover the jewels added Diana Ramirez That s what really matters Visitors queue outside the Louvre museum in Paris Sunday one week after the robbery AP Photo Thomas Padilla