Jewelry Collection Robber Musuem Louvre Arrested

UNSPLASH/Alexander Kagan ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The jewelry collection robbers at the Louvre Museum, Paris, were arrested when one of them was about to fly out of France.

Two men in their 30s and from the suburbs of SEine-Saint-Denis, were detained late Saturday, according to the Le Parisien newspaper, who first reported the news.

They were identified by the French police. One of the suspects is said to be flying to Algeria from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

There were no reports of the stolen French crown jewel having been found.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not say how many people were arrested or provide more details about them.

He regretted the fact that information about their arrests was leaked.

"This disclosure will only hinder the investigation efforts of about 100 mobilized investigators, both in the search for stolen jewelry and for all perpetrators. It is too early to provide specific details," Beccuau said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who is under public pressure to provide investigative results a week after the robbery, expressed his appreciation to investigators.

Four face-grained thieves took away eight valuables worth about 102 million from the Louvre collection on October 19, revealing the security gaps in the most visited museums in the world.

They enter using automatic crane stairs to break the upper floor window during opening hours and escape on motorbikes.

The news of the robbery echoed around the world, sparking contemplation in France over what some consider a national insult.

The stolen treasure included crowns and earrings from the jewelry of Queen Marie-Amlie and Queen Hortense from the early 19th century.

The Crown of the Queen of Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was found damaged outside the museum. The thieves appear to have dropped the valuable object, made of gold, charmrud, and diamonds, as they fled.