What to know about the 4 suspects in the Louvre crown jewels heist
PARIS (AP) — Four suspects in the Louvre heist have been handed preliminary charges and incarcerated, including three believed to be members of the team who forced its way into the museum, leaving with $102 million worth crown jewels.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau noted the apparent “closeness” of the suspects. Two of them were convicted in 2015 in the same theft case and all are based in Paris’ northern suburbs.
Authorities said the jewelry has not been recovered and the fourth member of the so-called “commando” is still at large. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said investigators are also looking for whoever might have ordered the crime.
Neither names nor extensive biographical details have been made public, in line with French law that provides that information about investigations is meant to be secret, in part to avoid compromising police work.
Here’s what to know so far about the suspects:
Man aged 34 arrested at Paris airport
A 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010 is suspected of being one of the two thieves who entered the Apollo Gallery with disc cutters to cut into the display cases and steal the jewels.
He was arrested on Oct. 25, six days after the heist, at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
The Algerian national lives in a suburb north of Paris named Aubervilliers and is known to police mostly for road traffic offenses and one theft. His DNA matched a scooter used in the getaway.
He told investigators he currently has no job but used to work as a garbage collector and delivery man. He faces preliminary charges of theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
Another suspect believed to have entered the Apollo Gallery
A 39-year-old-man was also arrested on Oct. 25 at his home in Aubervilliers, where he was born. He is believed to be the second man who entered the Apollo Gallery. His DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed and on items the thieves left behind.
He is known to police for several thefts.
The 39-year-old is to go on trial later this month for damaging a mirror and the door of the prison cell he was being detained in as part of a separate theft investigation, in which he was later cleared. He told investigators he works as a taxi driver operating illegally.
He faces preliminary charges of theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
Beccuau said both men gave “minimalist” statements and “partially admitted” their involvement in the Louvre heist.
A 37-year-old man with a record of theft
A 37-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday, 10 days after the heist.
He is believed to be the third member of the team of four who arrived at the Louvre with a lift truck, simulating renovation work to stop the vehicle at the foot of the museum. The four left on two scooters headed toward eastern Paris.
His DNA was found inside the basket lift.
The Paris prosecutor said he denied involvement.
His criminal record contains 11 previous convictions, 10 of them for theft. He was convicted in 2015 in Paris in the same theft case as the 39-year-old suspect.
He faces preliminary charges of theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
A 38-year-old woman accused of being an accomplice
A 38-year-old woman arrested Wednesday is the longtime partner of the 37-year-old suspect. They have children together. The couple lives in La Courneuve, another northern suburb of Paris close to Aubervilliers.
The woman denied any involvement, her lawyer said.
A small amount of her DNA was found on the basket lift which could possibly be due to “DNA transfer” according to the Paris prosecutor — that is DNA she may have left on someone or on some item that later transferred on the basket lift.
She faces preliminary charges of complicity in theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.
