Two of the five suspects arrested on Wednesday, October 29, as part of the investigation into theft of jewels valued at 88 million euros from the Louvre Museumin Paris, were formally charged this Saturdayannounced the public prosecutor of Paris, Laure Beccuau.
The two suspects, a 37-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, are now accused – in the case of the man, already known to the authorities for previous crimes, for criminal association and organized group robbery in the case of the man; the woman is accused of being an accomplice. Both are in pre-trial detention.
The remaining three detainees were meanwhile released without chargesafter two days of interrogations, according to French media and international agencies.
The robbery, which occurred just over a week ago, involved a group of four men who managed to access the Apollo Gallery, where there are jewels from the French crown’s Napoleon collection. Meticulously, the robbers disguised themselves as construction workers and used a lift to reach one of the museum’s windows and escape with the valuable loot.
Among the stolen pieces, which remain to be recovered, are necklaces, tiaras and precious stones of incalculable historical value. The authorities calculate the loss in around 88 million euros.
The prosecutor further confirmed that two other menarrested the previous week – one of them caught in the Roissy airportwhen trying to embark for Algeria -, had already been accused and placed in preventive detention.
According to the French Public Prosecutor’s Office, the new arrests resulted from evidence collected through DNA, video surveillance images and telephone recordsand not confessions. So far, the last two suspects arrested deny any involvement not hit.
Neither the names nor biographical details about the suspects have been released.
The researchers from Central Office to Combat Trafficking in Cultural Goods (OCBC) believe that the jewelry will not appear on the legal art market again and, instead, may be used as currency in criminal networks or money laundering operations.
Around 100 investigators are mobilized to work seven days a week on the case, with approximately 150 forensic samples analyzed and 189 items sealed as evidence.
“Totally obsolete” security at the Louvre
The case caused a wave of criticism of security management at the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world. The Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, revealed on Friday the first conclusions of the internal investigation, which point to a “chronic underestimation of the risk of intrusion and theft” and for “completely obsolete” response protocols.
To correct these flaws, Dati announced the installation of anti-intrusion barriers and other security systems until at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the police continue to try to locate the remaining members of the group and, above all, the missing jewels, which, until now, remain unclear.
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