Paris: French authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with the theft of priceless antique jewels at the Louvre Museum in Paris, as the pair prepare to flee abroad.
According to Thai News Agency, French media, citing the Paris prosecutor's office, reported that police arrested two suspects on Saturday evening in connection with the theft of priceless jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris last Sunday. The suspects are two men in their 30s from the Seine-Saint-Denis department on the outskirts of Paris, one of the country's most deprived areas. One was detained at Charles de Gaulle International Airport as he was preparing to leave the country for Algeria, while the other was arrested before leaving for Mali. They are being questioned to gain information about the stolen jewels and the whereabouts of the other two suspects who are still at large.
Paris prosecutors have not released any details about the arrests, criticizing the premature release of information related to the case, saying it hinders the work of more than 100 investigators searching for the stolen jewels and the perpetrators.
Eight ancient crowns and jewels worth an estimated £88 million (3.347 billion baht) were stolen by four thieves who used a crane to break through an upper floor window in broad daylight on October 19. The theft took less than eight minutes, highlighting the lax security at the Louvre Museum, which houses one of the world's largest collections of masterpieces and is the world's most visited museum, with 8.7 million visitors last year.
An extensive investigation has been launched into how the incident unfolded. The museum's director told French senators last week that the only camera installed on the Louvre's exterior wall where the thieves entered was facing away. There were no cameras inside the Apollo gallery where the attack took place. France's justice minister admitted that the security measures had failed, leaving the country with a bad image. Experts expressed concern that the stolen jewels may have been disassembled into hundreds of pieces, making it virtually impossible to recover them intact.