two arrested over historic £76m heist at louvre museum in paris

Police officers in front of the Louvre Museum,which closed for three days after the robbery (Picture: Rex)

Police have arrested two men suspected of being part of a gang who made off with France’s crown jewels worth £76m from the Louvre.

One man was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport last night after investigors found he was preparing to flee abroad,likely to Algeria,Le Parisien reports.

French media reported the other was arrested in the Paris region during the same evening.

Referring to a suburb in northern Paris,a police investigating source said of the two suspects: ‘They are in their 30s,and come from Seine St Denis.’

Already known to the police,they allegedly have the profile of seasoned burglars who may have being acting to order.

The Paris prosecutor’s officer reluctantly confirmed that arrests had been made last night,without saying how many people were in custody.

French officials described how the intruders used a cherry picker to scale the building’s facade,forced open a window,smashed display cases and fled last Sunday morning.

After escaping on a stolen flatbed truck using a furniture lift (whose makers capitalised on their newfound notoriety with a tongue-in-cheek advert),the burglars left behind at least 150 DNA samples including fingerprints.

The sample were left on the stolen truck,a crash helmet and glove that were abandoned.

There were attempts to set the vehicle on fire,but they failed,as the raiders got away on two motorbikes after the burglary which lasted just seven minutes.

One of the suspects was arrested at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris (Picture: Getty)

Laurent Nunez,France’s Interior Minister,wrote on X: ‘I extend my warmest congratulations to the investigators who have worked tirelessly as I requested and who have always had my full confidence.

‘The investigations must continue while respecting the confidentiality of the inquiry under the authority of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Paris prosecutors. It will be with the same determination !! We keep going !!’

Prosecutor Ms Beccuau valued the haul at 88 million euros (£76 million,or over $100 million).

But she warned that it was likely the jewellery would be destroyed by prying out the gems and melting down the metal,to make them easier to sell for a fraction of their true value.

Fearing the rest of the collection could be at risk,museum staff are reported to have transferred some of its other most precious jewels to the Bank of France.

The museum’s director called the incident a ‘terrible failure’.

Laurence des Cars admitted in a senate committee hearing that the security camera coverage outside the museum was ‘highly insufficient’.