Five More Arrests over Louvre Heist
October 31, 25
(IDEX Online) - Five more suspects were arrested on Wednesday night (29 October) in connection with the Louvre heist.
One is believed to be a member of the four-man team that carried out the raid, who was identified through DNA evidence and seen on CCTV footage.
The two suspects arrested earlier (on 25 October) have "partially admitted" their involvement in the crime, according to French investigators.
Napoleonic crown jewels valued at over $100m were stolen on Sunday 19 October just as the museum, in Paris, was opening to visitors.
The thieves used mechanical ladder to reach a second-floor balcony, cut through the display cases with power tools, then escaped on motorbikes.
Laure Beccuau, the public prosecutor in Paris, said there was currently no evidence to suggest the theft was an inside job. None of the those arrested worked at the museum.
The four-man gang who carried out the raid left behind a motorbike helmet which provided a crucial hair sample believed to be linked to one of the suspects, together with multiple DNA samples.
The Louvre, the most-visited museum in the world, has since moved the remaining crown jewels to a vault at the Bank of France.
Pic, courtesy the Louvre, shows Apollo Gallery.