Show Caption
Multiple suspects have been arrested in connection with the brazen heist of crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris, a week after thieves stole millions of dollars worth of historic jewelry, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. The French newspaper Le Parisien first reported that two men in their 30s originally from the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of France's capital were arrested Oct. 25. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said one of the suspects was preparing to fly out of the country from Charles de Gaulle airport at the time of the arrest. Le Parisien and the French television station BFMTV reported that two suspects had been taken into custody. But Beccuau did not confirm those reports or provide any additional details on the suspects or whether the jewels were recovered. In a statement, Beccuau expressed frustration that information about their arrest was leaked. "This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the 100 or so mobilised investigators, both in the search for the stolen jewelry and for all the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any specific details," Beccuau said. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez applauded investigators for the arrests and said they "worked tirelessly" and had his "full confidence.""It will be with the same determination !! We keep going !!," Nuñez said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Thieves stole eight pieces of jewelry worn by 19th-century French royalty – jewelry worth an estimated $102 million – before escaping on motorbikes in a seven-minute daylight raid Oct. 19. The robbers climbed a ladder to a second-story balcony and used tools to break through a window into the Apollo Gallery, where they smashed the glass display cases and snatched the jewels. The stolen jewels included earrings and a necklace from a sapphire jewelry set owned by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, the stepdaughter of Napoleon I, and an emerald-covered necklace and pair of earrings, along with two tiaras.News of the raid sparked worldwide criticism over the museum's lapse in security. The Louvre director said the museum's cameras failed to spot the burglars and that there were not enough cameras monitoring the museum's perimeter. Contributing: Reuters; Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
