Louvre jewel heist: Suspects arrested near Paris

PARIS: Suspects in the brazen daylight heist of some of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre were arrested near Paris on Saturday, just as one of them was about to fly out of the country from Charles de Gaulle airport, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the story, two men in their 30s and originally from the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of the French capital were arrested on Saturday evening.

They were known to French police, and one of the suspects was about to depart for Algeria, the newspaper said. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not say how many people were arrested or give any more detail on their profile.

In a statement, she deplored the fact that information about their arrest was leaked.

Read more: Louvre jewel theft is just the latest in a string of museum heists

“This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the 100 or so mobilised investigators, both in the search for the stolen jewellery and for all the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any specific details,” Beccuau said.

NATIONAL HUMILIATION

Thieves made off witheight precious pieces worth an estimated $102 million from the Louvre’s collection on October 19, exposing security lapses as they broke into the world’s most-visited museum using a crane to smash an upstairs window during opening hours. They escaped on motorbikes.

News of the robbery reverberated around the world, prompting soul-searching in France over what some regarded as a national humiliation.