Louvre Heist update: Here's everything prosecutors have found so far

Updating on the Louvre Heist, Paris prosecutors revealed that the brazen $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre Museum last month was likely the work of petty small-time criminals from the “Parisian suburbs” and not by a sophisticated organized crime gang.

Earlier, the footage showed a four-person gang steal historic crown jewels within seven minutes. In the recent development of the case, the police have arrested four suspects including a “couple with children. Yet, the multi-million dollar treasures remain missing.

Inside seven minutes Louvre Heist

The heist took place on October 19 and was executed with startling speed and audacity.

They stole a truck equipped with a furniture lift and parked it below the Museum’s Apollo Gallery which is home to the French jewels).

The thieves then clambered up to a first-floor window and broke in using angle grinders to break into reinforced glass display cases.

Within seven minutes, they stole previous crown jewels and fled the scene on waiting scooters. 

The price of seized jewels worth an estimated $102 million (€88 million) including an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave to his second wife, Marie Louise, and a diadem set with 212 pearls and nearly 2,000 diamonds that had once belonged to the empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.

However, they dropped one of the most valuable items i.e., diamond and emerald studded crown of Empress Eugénie.

The suspects: 'Clearly local people'

The investigations lead to arrest of four individuals who are being charged and remanded in custody:

• Two initial suspects: A 34-year-old Algerian national and a 39-year-old Frenchman, both from the suburb of Aubervilliers, were arrested a week after the heist. Prosecutors say they have “partially admitted” their involvement. The two men were previously convicted together in a theft case in 2015.
• A couple arrested later: This week, a 37-year-old man and his 38-year-old partner were charged. The man, who has 11 prior convictions, mostly for theft, is suspected of being one of the robbers after his DNA was found in the basket lift used in the crime. His partner has been charged with complicity; traces of her DNA were also found in the lift, though prosecutors believe they may have been transferred indirectly. The couple, who have children together, have denied any involvement. Reports state the woman broke down in court, crying, “I am afraid for my children, and for myself.”

On Sunday, November 2, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed that all four suspects in custody are “clearly local people” from the Seine-Saint-Denis area, which is considered a low-income region north of Paris.

She further emphasized that their identities don't match any “upper echelons of organized crime.”

“This is not quite everyday delinquency…. But it is a type of delinquency that we do not generally associate with the upper echelons of organised crime,” she added.

The theory of thieves being amateur is also supported by several clues left at the scene. 

One of the most prominent instances is that they dropped the most valuable piece and also left behind the tools and a glove which carried their DNA. 

Thieves also failed to destroy the mover’s truck to erase evidence.

The prosecutor confirmed that beside these four suspects, "at least one person is still missing” from the heist group and French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez suggested this individual is likely the “organizer.”

Three other people who were arrested alongside the couple have been released without charge.

Hunt for crown jewels

Despite four arrests, the historic jewels have not been recovered yet. Although the unique nature of the crown jewels makes them nearly impossible to sell on the open market, there are chances that they have been melted to extract precious stones and diamonds.

Prosecutor Beccuau said that the investigation team is exploring all aspects including the possibility of jewels being “used for money laundering” or traded on the black market.

She explained, “We are examining all the possibilities offered by the black market for selling this jewellery, which I hope will not happen any time soon.”