Two arrested over Louvre ‘heist of the century’ after raid of France’s £76million crown jewels

Two men have been arrested in connection with the £78 million Louvre museum robbery in France.

Paris police confirmed on Sunday they were suspected of breaking into the world’s most visited art gallery a week ago.

The investigating source said the men were placed under surveillance after forensic evidence showed they were in the vicinity of the Louvre last Sunday.

This is a common practice following a robbery, as police hope the suspects will lead them to the stolen goods.

But when one of the men was spotted at the airport, detectives took an ’emergency decision’ to make the arrests.

The men were taken to the high-security center of the Paris judicial police for questioning on Sunday.

Referring to a suburb in the north of the French capital, an investigative source said: ‘They are in their 30s and come from Seine St Denis.

‘One was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport at around 10pm on Saturday night while trying to fly to Algeria.’

The two men known to police to have committed theft have the profile of experienced thieves who act on orders.

The Louvre thieves left behind at least 150 DNA samples, including fingerprints, before escaping.

Details of the evidence against the four raiders have been revealed by the Paris prosecutor, who remains ‘optimistic’ that they will be found soon.

Laure Beccuau was speaking after the spectacular broad daylight robbery at the world’s most visited art museum.

Video shared on social media shows two thieves descending a grand staircase near the famous museum in the heart of Paris

He hoped the criminals had been previously convicted, meaning their DNA was already in forensic databases and could be matched.

‘Analysis requires time and is of course a priority for laboratories,’ Ms Beccuau said.

‘The studies to be carried out in the coming days may reveal new clues, especially if the perpetrators are on file.’

‘150 trace samples’ were left on a stolen van and an abandoned helmet and gloves.

There were attempts to set the vehicle on fire, but they failed as the raiders escaped on two motorbikes after a theft that lasted just seven minutes.

Four raiders were seen at the Louvre last Sunday, some of whom were recorded on video by witnesses.

Among the jewels taken were a brooch with 2348 diamonds and a tiara with 1083 diamonds; all of these were once worn by relatives of Napoleon Bonaparte.

While the five security guards fled, the police who responded to the alarm arrived too late to find the gang had disappeared on two motorbikes.

It was only by chance that the bad guys brought down a magnificently ornate headdress he had created for Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, for the Universal Exposition in the French capital in 1855.

The treasury was extremely badly damaged and will require months of complex restoration.

While CCTV cameras inside the Louvre largely looked in another direction at the Apollo Gallery (the scene of the crime where seven historic pieces representing France’s ‘crown jewels’ were taken), there was plenty going on outside too.

Ms Beccuau said video surveillance ‘makes it possible to trace the route criminals took to escape Paris and neighboring areas’ [the French equivalent of counties].

All this happened thanks to ‘images obtained from public or private cameras’ that will be used in the coming days.

It is now a race against time to ensure ‘the perpetrators are arrested as quickly as possible to recover the jewels before the stones are removed and the metal melts’, Ms Beccuau said.

“I want to be optimistic,” he said, noting that “media coverage” of the theft provided “a small hope that the perpetrators will not dare to mess with the jewels too much.”

The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris was hit by a gang who stole jewels worth millions (pictured: French police officers next to a staircase outside the tourist attraction)

Ms Beccuau launched an investigation into ‘criminal conspiracy to commit theft and crime’ by a ‘highly organized criminal gang’.

If caught and convicted, those responsible face up to 15 years in prison.

The investigation is carried out by the Anti-Banditry Brigade of the Judicial Police and the Central Office for Combating Cultural Objects Smuggling.

The Louvre welcomed approximately 9 million visitors in 2024, 80% of whom were foreign, including hundreds of thousands from the UK.

Those who steal historic works of art often work at the behest of dealers who are unable to sell them on the black market.

Instead, the jewels will be kept secret and used by the master criminal who carried out the raid.

Alternatively, criminals can conceal the historical origins of the jewels and gold by dismantling them and selling them independently.

This is a breaking news, will be updated soon.