Police Arrest 5 Suspects Of Loovre Museum Collection Theft

Louvre Museum, Paris/ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/DAT VO

JAKARTA - Police have arrested five more suspects in connection with the theft of treasure worth 102 million from the Apollo gallery at the Louvre Museum.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told RTL radio stations that one of the suspects was identified through DNA traces left behind at the scene, arrested in coordinated raids in various areas of the capital on Wednesday night local time.

Shortly before the latest arrests were made, Beccuau revealed two other men detained over the weekend in connection with the theft had "recognized part of" their involvement in the robbery.

One of them was trying to fly out of France when he was arrested.

"At that time, we clearly had to speed up the arrest operation," Beccuau told RTL as reported by Reuters on Thursday, October 30.

He said the jewelry was still missing, but expressed optimism that those arrested might be able to provide more information about the series of events.

The theft reveals a security gap in the museums most visited in the world and is seen by many as the cause of national insults.

Four people carried out the robbery, but Beccuau said he had not ruled out the possibility of broader network engagement, including someone who could have ordered the theft and was the mastermind behind it.