France arrests 2 in $102M jewel heist at Louvre Museum

Anadolu, Philippine News Agency

French authorities arrested two suspects linked to last week’s burglary at the Louvre Museum. (Pexels photo)

ISTANBUL – French authorities arrested two suspects linked to last week’s burglary at the Louvre Museum, where eight of France’s crown jewels worth an estimated 88 million euros (USD102 million) were stolen, local media reported on Sunday.

According to BFMTV, one suspect was detained late Saturday at the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria. The arrest was carried out by border police and the anti-banditry brigade.

A second person was also taken into custody in connection with the heist, believed to be a four-member group that smashed a window in the Apollon Gallery before escaping with the jewels.

Investigators are still searching for two remaining suspects and the stolen items.

The stolen collection included a necklace and an earring from the Marie-Louise collection, a necklace, earrings, and tiara from the Marie-Amelie and Hortense collections, and two brooches, a bodice bow, and a tiara from the Empress Eugenie collection.

Investigators later found Eugenie’s crown, which the robbers abandoned near the museum —a discovery that a Louvre security guard described as evidence that their “plan was thwarted.”