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Two men nabbed by French cops over the jaw-dropping €88m (£77m) Louvre jewel heist have half-admitted to pulling off the audacious daylight raid that stunned Paris . The pair, both in their 30s, are suspected of being part of the gang who used power tools to smash their way into the world-famous museum’s Apollon Gallery two weeks ago. They made off with priceless French crown jewels in just four minutes flat. Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the bling, including royal treasures once worn by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, is still missing. One crown was dropped by the panicked robbers as they fled and experts are now checking for damage. One suspect was collared as he tried to flee the country on a one-way flight to Algeria, while the other was picked up in France. DNA evidence reportedly helped nail the duo after investigators found traces left behind at the scene. The men are believed to be two of four masked thieves caught on CCTV during the daring raid on October 19. Crooks swooped in broad daylight, not long after the museum had opened, using a stolen lift truck to reach a balcony near the Seine. Once inside, they used a disc cutter to break open the display cases, before zooming off on scooters and later ditching them for getaway cars. The whole thing was over by 9:38am and not a single person was harmed during the incident, Beccuau said. Officials aren’t ruling out the idea that the gang could be bigger than the four seen on camera, though there’s no sign yet of any inside help from museum staff. “I remain hopeful the jewels will be found and returned to the nation,” Beccuau said, while blasting leaks to the media that she claimed hampered the investigation. In the wake of the raid, the Louvre has stashed its remaining treasures deep underground - 26 metres below Paris - in the Bank of France’s most secure vault. Following the shocking theft, crowds have flocked to Louvre's smashed window used by the suspects so they can see the escape route for themselves. Some tourists even snapped photos, while others came to check if the window had been repaired, turning the crime scene to a must-see attraction. Parisian student Cheryl Chen said: "Everyone in Paris is talking about the robbery. Lots of people came just to see the window where the thieves entered. "It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment - tourists are now coming here to take photos instead of visiting the Louvre itself." For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .
