Copyright dailyrecord
Two people arrested in connection with a jewellery heist at the Louvre have 'partially' confessed, it has been reported. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau updated the public at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, reports Sky News . The arrests were made on Saturday evening in connection with the heist at the world-famous Louvre on October 19. Four thieves were involved in stealing nine items during the robbery that took place while the museum was open to visitors. Today, Ms Beccuau confirmed that the jewels had not yet bene found. One of the items thieves lifted was dropped and recovered at the scene . Ms Beccuau addressed reports that police believe the robbery to be an inside job, saying there was "no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help". Custody can run up to 96 hours under French rules for organised theft. As the limit is set to expire, prosecutors must charge the suspects , seek a judge's extension or release them. Beccuau said that one suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010. He was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday night as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket. It was said that he was known to police mostly for road traffic offenses and was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. The other suspect , 39, was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers on Saturday night. The man's DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind. He was known to police for several theft. Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued at 88 million euros (£77 million) in the heist at the world’s most visited museum – a crime that has shocked the world. French officials described how the intruders used a cherry picker to scale the Louvre’s facade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled last Sunday morning. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure”. The Lonvre reopened last week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale. The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of France’s crown jewels – a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019. The thieves made away with a total of eight objects , including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense. They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugenie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch – an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship – were also part of the loot. One piece – Eugenie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds – was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable .
