Suspects in Louvre jewel heist case arrested near Paris, prosecutor says

Suspects involved in the daring daylight theft of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre were detained near Paris on Saturday, shortly before one of them attempted to leave the country from Charles de Gaulle Airport, the Paris prosecutor announced on Sunday.

According to Le Parisien, which first reported the arrests, two men in their thirties from the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of the French capital were taken into custody on Saturday evening. Both were already known to police, and one had been preparing to fly to Algeria, the newspaper said.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau declined to specify how many individuals had been arrested or to provide further details about them. In a statement, she condemned the leak of information surrounding the arrests, warning that it could obstruct the work of investigators.

“This disclosure can only hinder the efforts of the roughly 100 investigators mobilised both to recover the stolen jewels and to identify all those involved. It is too early to share specific details,” Beccuau said.

The thieves made off with eight valuable pieces worth an estimated $102 million during the 19 October heist, exposing serious security failures at the world’s most-visited museum. The criminals reportedly used a crane to smash an upper-floor window during opening hours before escaping on motorbikes.

The robbery sent shockwaves through France and beyond, sparking widespread reflection over what many viewed as a national embarrassment.

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