France arrests 2 in $102M jewel heist at Louvre Museum

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - French authorities arrested two suspects linked to last week’s burglary at the Louvre Museum, where eight of France’s crown jewels worth an estimated €88 million ($102M) were stolen, local media reported on Sunday.

According to BFMTV, one suspect was detained late Saturday at the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria. The arrest was carried out by border police and the anti-banditry brigade.

A second person was also taken into custody in connection with the heist, believed to be a four-member group that smashed a window in the Apollon Gallery before escaping with the jewels.

Investigators are still searching for two remaining suspects and the stolen items.

The stolen collection included a necklace and an earring from the Marie-Louise collection, a necklace, earrings, and tiara from the Marie-Amelie and Hortense collections, and two brooches, a bodice bow, and a tiara from the Empress Eugenie collection.

Investigators later found Eugenie’s crown, which the robbers abandoned near the museum — a discovery that a Louvre security guard described as evidence that their “plan was thwarted.”