Two of the suspects in the Louvre jewellery heist were convicted of involvement in the same theft case a decade ago, French prosecutors have revealed.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said three alleged members, of what French media have dubbed the four-strong “commando” team who carried out the raid, are now in custody.
The thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – worth an estimated £76m in less than eight minutes while the world-famous museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift, before fleeing on scooters.
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But prosecutors said the audacious raid appears to be the work of small-time criminals from the northern suburbs of Paris rather than Ocean’s Eleven-style professional gangsters.
“This is not quite everyday delinquency… but it is a type of delinquency that we do not generally associate with the upper echelons of organised crime,” Ms Beccuau told franceinfo radio.
The thieves dropped the most precious of the jewels – Empress Eugenie’s crown, made of gold, emerald and diamonds – during their getaway, left tools and other items at the scene, and failed to set fire to the movers’ truck before fleeing.
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Ms Bacau said the DNA of a 37-year-old man – who was handed preliminary charges of theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy on Saturday – was found inside the lift.
His criminal record contained 11 previous convictions, including 10 for theft, while a 39-year-old man handed similar preliminary charges on Wednesday has 15 previous convictions, including two for theft.
“What’s interesting about these records, when we compare them, is that … we see that they were both involved in the same theft case, for which they were convicted in Paris in 2015,” Ms Beccuau said.
A 34-year-old man suspected of being part of the team who carried out the heist was also hit with preliminary charges on Wednesday.
A 38-year-old woman who was handed preliminary charges of “complicity” on Saturday is said to be the girlfriend of the 37-year-old suspect, said Ms Beccuau, who added there was some “closeness” between all four of the suspects, who are are being held in custody.
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At least one suspect still at large
France’s interior minister Laurent Nunez said he is “optimistic” about the investigation but not that “the loot will be recovered quickly”.
“There are four perpetrators, at least one of whom remains at large, plus possibly the one or those who ordered the crime and the jewelry,” he told Le Parisien newspaper.
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Ms Beccuau did not say whether investigators are any closer to finding the stolen jewels, which included an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch.
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They also took a sapphire diadem (a jewelled headband), necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense, Empress Eugenie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch.
“We are examining all the possibilities on the parallel market for selling this jewellery, which I hope will not happen anytime soon. … It could be used for money laundering, it could be used for trade, all leads are being explored,” Ms Beccuau said.
