The Paris prosecutor said Saturday that two new suspects received preliminary charges for their alleged involvement in the theft of the crown jewels from the Louvre museum, three days after they were arrested by police as part of a wide-ranging investigation.
Laure Beccuau, the prosecutor, said a 37-year-old suspect was charged with robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. Authorities knew him from previous robberies, according to the statement.
The other suspect, a 38-year-old woman, was charged with being an accomplice. Both were imprisoned.
Both denied involvement, the prosecutor said.
The woman’s attorney, Adrien Sorrentino, told reporters that his client is “devastated” that she disputes the allegations.
“She does not understand how she is involved in any of the elements that are accused of her,” he stated.
The jewelry has not been recovered.
Authorities said the jewelry stolen in the Oct. 19 heist has not been recovered: a treasure worth about $102 million that includes a diamond and emerald necklace that Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise as a wedding gift, jewelry linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortensia, and Empress Eugenie’s pearl-and-diamond tiara.
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Five people were arrested by police on Wednesday in connection with the case, including one linked to the heist by DNA. That person is suspected of belonging to the team of four people who used a lift truck to enter the Louvre. The prosecutor did not specify whether the person was among those charged on Saturday.
The other three have been released without charge, Beccuau said.
Two previous suspects, men aged 34 and 39 from Aubervilliers, north of Paris, were charged this week with robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
Beccuau said both made “minimalist” statements and “partially admitted” their involvement. The two are believed to be the men who forced their way into the Apollo Gallery. One was detained at Charles-de-Gaulle airport with a one-way ticket to Algeria; His DNA matched the scooter used in the escape.
About 100 researchers involved
The names and extensive biographical details of the suspects have not been released.
Information about investigations must be secret under French law, to avoid compromising police work and guarantee victims’ right to privacy, a policy known as “investigative secrecy.” Only the prosecutor can speak publicly about events and offenders can be prosecuted.
Earlier this week, Beccuau praised an “exceptional mobilization”: around 100 investigators seven days a week, with approximately 150 forensic samples analyzed and 189 items sealed as evidence.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewelry. The four-person team used a forklift, allowing two of them to force open a window and cut two display cases with disc cutters, before the four fled on two scooters towards the east of Paris.
Only the “almost simultaneous” arrival of police and museum security prevented the thieves from setting fire to the elevator and destroying crucial evidence, the prosecutor said.
Investigators said there are no signs of inside help for now, although they do not rule out a broader network beyond the four who appear on camera.
In a separate case, Interior Minister Laurent Núñez said six people were arrested Thursday shortly after a robbery at a gold refining laboratory in the city of Lyon during which thieves used explosives. The loot, whose value was estimated at 12 million euros ($13.9 million), has already been recovered, Núñez said in X.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
