Two Arrested in Louvre Museum Theft Case
NEW DELHI, Oct 26: Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of precious jewellery from the Louvre Museum in Paris, media reports said citing sources.
One of the suspects was detained around 10 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport as he was about to board a plane abroad, while the second was arrested not long after in the Paris region.
The brazen heist of crown jewels from the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, took place last Sunday. The thieves broke into the museum using a crane to smash an upstairs window during opening hours and stole eight precious pieces worth an estimated $102 million.
They then escaped on motorbikes, prompting a massive search across France. A new video emerged earlier this week, showing two robbers escaping with precious crown jewels. The footage showed the robbers, dressed in construction gear, using a hydraulic lift to flee after the heist.
An earlier video showed one of the robbers cutting through a glass display case while visitors walked by. Paris prosecutors had entrusted the investigation to a specialised Paris police unit known as the BRB, which is used to dealing with high-profile robberies.
The eight stolen pieces span two centuries of history and belonged to queens and empresses of France. Empress Eugenie’s tiara and crown, which were crafted by the renowned jeweller Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier shortly after her marriage to Napoleon III in 1853, were stolen, but the crown was abandoned by the thieves as they fled.
A necklace and earrings sapphire set worn by Queen Marie Amelie, wife of Louis-Philippe, the French king from 1830 to 1848, and Queen Hortense, mother of Napoleon III, were also stolen.
A necklace and a pair of emerald earrings, which were a wedding gift from Napoleon I to his second wife, Empress Marie Louise, and made by her official jeweller, Francois-Regnault Nitot, were also taken.
Of the eight stolen items, seven were acquired in the past four decades. France’s Ministry of Culture had said the jewels have a “priceless heritage value.” “They are invaluable in terms of heritage,” said Rykner. “However, their price can be assessed.”
The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum and draws up to 30,000 visitors a day. It houses over 33,000 artefacts, including antique items, sculptures, and paintings. The star attraction is the Mona Lisa, the world’s best-known artwork, besides the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
(Manas Dasgupta)
