Louvre jewel stolen by petty criminals, not organized professionals, says Paris prosecutor | Paris

The Paris prosecutor said that the daytime robbery at the Louvre Museum was carried out by petty criminals rather than professionals from the world of organized crime, and described two of the suspects as a couple with children.

The confirmation comes two weeks after thieves parked a stolen truck outside the world’s most visited museum, used a furniture lift to reach the first floor, and then broke into one of the museum’s most ornate rooms. Less than seven minutes later, they fled on motorbikes carrying crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m).

The daring robbery, carried out on Sunday in broad daylight, has sparked a reckoning in France. Four people have since been charged, but the stolen gems, which include an emerald and diamond necklace given by Napoleon I to his second wife, Marie-Louise, and a diadem studded with 212 pearls and nearly 2,000 diamonds previously owned by Eugenie, Napoleon III’s wife, have yet to be recovered.

Paris prosecutor Laure Bicawa told France Info radio network on Sunday that at least one more of the perpetrators remains at large.

French media speculated that the thieves were amateurs after it emerged that they dropped the most expensive jewelery – Empress Eugenie’s tiara, made of gold, emeralds and diamonds – during their escape, and left behind tools and other items at the scene that likely bore traces of their DNA.

“This is not exactly everyday delinquency…but it is a type of delinquency that we do not generally associate with the higher levels “Organized crime,” said Bekouao, who described the defendants as locals, saying they all hailed from the Seine-Saint-Denis region. to divide North of Paris, which is one of the poorest regions in France.

A 38-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man have been charged and remanded in custody amid accusations their DNA was found in the elevator used during the robbery, prosecutors said Saturday.

The man was charged with organized robbery and criminal conspiracy, while his accomplice was charged with complicity in organized robbery and criminal conspiracy.

Pekwao described them as a couple who had children together. She added that they “denied any involvement.” The woman was crying when she appeared before a Paris court on Saturday, saying she feared for her children and herself.

A few days ago, police arrested two more people in connection with the raid: a 34-year-old Algerian who has lived in France since 2010, and a 39-year-old young man who was already under judicial supervision on charges of aggravated robbery. The men, charged with robbery and criminal conspiracy, had “partially admitted” their involvement, Bekwao said last week.

The three accused men were known to police due to previous convictions, including robbery. Two suspects were convicted together in a robbery case 10 years ago, said Bekwao, who did not rule out on Sunday that there could be other accomplices.

Three people arrested with the couple on October 29 were released without charges, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

When asked Sunday whether investigators were getting closer to finding the jewelry, Bekwao demurred, citing the confidentiality of the investigation.

“We are examining all possibilities in the parallel market to sell this jewelry, which I hope will not happen anytime soon,” she said. “It could be used for money laundering, it could be used for trade; all leads are being explored.”