Five more arrests but jewels still missing in Louvre raid
Vast gap between the extraordinary nature of the arrests and the ordinariness of our client, say lawyers defending robbery suspect
A total of seven people have now been arrested in connection with the Louvre burglary
Gustavo Otsuka/Shutterstock
Five more people have been arrested in relation to the theft of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre.
The arrests were made on Wednesday (October 29) evening, ten days after the break-in at the museum’s Galerie d’Apollon on October 19.
The total number of suspects arrested now stands at seven.
The Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told French radio network RTL that the arrests took place in Paris and the surrounding areas at roughly 21:00, with one of the ‘main suspects’ behind the burglary being taken into custody.
Investigators believe one of these suspects was present during the theft, while the four other people arrested may be able to provide information to help the case, explained Ms Beccuau.
The arrests have not yet led to the recovery of the stolen items, which hold a collective estimated value of €88 million.
A total of seven arrests made
Two initial arrests had already been made on Saturday (October 25) in the evening. The men, aged 34 and 39 and known to police, were identified after investigators matched DNA traces taken from the scene.
On Wednesday evening, these suspects “admitted that they had been involved in the burglary,” said Ms Beccuau. They were charged with organised theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime.
The lawyers for the 34-year-old suspect, Réda Ghilaci and David Bocobza, told reporters outside the Paris court: “The only comment we can give you tonight is that there is a vast gap between the extraordinary nature of this and the ordinariness of our client.”
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