Two Men Arrested Over $100M Louvre Museum Jewel Heist

Two individuals who purportedly pilfered crown jewels valued at $100 million in a bold daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum in France were apprehended on Saturday evening, October 25, with one of the suspects seized at the airport while attempting to escape the nation.

One of the suspects, whose identity remains undisclosed, was caught while in the process of boarding a plane destined for Algeria at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, as reported by the Paris newspaper Le Parisien.

The men, hailing from Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburban area north of Paris, were taken into custody by authorities amid probes into “organized gang robbery” and “conspiracy to commit a crime.”

Authorities received information on Saturday indicating that one of the suspects was probably planning to depart the country by air and travel to Algeria in North Africa.

The second suspect was detained not long after in Paris.

The supposed perpetrators are familiar to law enforcement due to previous thefts and are thought to have executed the prominent robbery under contract, according to Le Parisien.

Last week, the group of four individuals donned yellow vests and motorcycle helmets as they forcibly entered the renowned French museum.
Employing a cherry picker, the robbers climbed to the museum’s Apollo Gallery and shattered the glass cases with chain saws while shocked visitors watched.

The robbery was finished in under four minutes as the perpetrators entered and exited swiftly, escaping with eight items from France’s Crown Jewels, estimated to be worth around $100 million.

The purloined jewellery encompassed a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a collection associated with 19th-century Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

The thieves descended using the identical cherry picker before trying to incinerate the bucket truck during their getaway, as they sped away on two scooters that had been stationed nearby.

Eight items from the assemblage were taken during the theft, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her substantial corsage-bow brooch were removed from the celebrated museum.

Eugénie’s emerald-encrusted imperial crown, featuring over 1,300 diamonds, was subsequently discovered outside the museum, impaired yet salvageable.

Law enforcement has not revealed the identities of the remaining two suspects or the orchestrator of the cinematic-style robbery.

Investigators gathered almost 150 traces of DNA, fingerprints and hair samples discovered at the location to various locations throughout Paris to link the persons to the crime.

The hair, presumed to be from the initial thief who accessed the museum, was located in a motorcycle helmet abandoned close to the area and a vests, the outlet said.

The two men are being held at police headquarters, where they may remain in detention for as long as 96 hours without formal charges.

Museum authorities have subsequently relocated the French Crown Jewels to a highly secure vault at the Bank of France.

The Deputy Commander cautioned that the board would not remain passive and permit undesirable individuals to damage the positive standing and prestige of Kano state.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli