Louvre Thieves Arrested by Authorities After Crown Jewels Heist

The culprits in last week's already-infamous Louvre heist have been arrested by French authorities after a massive manhunt, but they have not confirmed the return of the missing crown jewels.

Over the past week, French officials conducted forensics on various items that the thieves used, allowing them to identify small pieces of evidence like fingerprints or fallen hair strands. They also used surveillance footage of the escape to track down their possible locations.

Then, they were able to make two arrests over the weekend. One of the perpetrators was caught trying to exit the country on a flight to Algeria at Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, while the other was caught after his DNA was confirmed by forensics teams.

However, French authorities have apologized for releasing the information so early, as it can hinder the ongoing operation to recover the jewels. The publicized arrests of groupmembers can often send the other members of a gang or robbery into hiding, making it tougher for officials to find them. Additionally, neither of the suspects arrested were carrying any of the crown jewels on them, meaning that the search for the precious items will continue.

The arrests come just after a major heist on the Louvre last week. Four thieves were able to break into the Louvre in broad daylight, stealing various crown jewels from the famed museum's Apollo Gallery and escaping in just eight minutes. The robbers utilized a basket lift to get up to the second-floor gallery before cutting through the window and the glass cases of the items using power tools. The thieves escaped with eight jewels that were collectively worth around $102 million.

The heist left French authorities stunned and exposed several major Louvre failures. While the alarms did go off, authorities did not have full surveillance of the exterior of the building, and the only camera on that side of the Louvre happened to be pointing in the opposite direction of the thieves. This slowed police down, as they were not able to pinpoint where the robbers were conducting the heist.

However, a massive renovation of the museum will begin next year, with the French government spending around $93 million to include new command centers, more cameras across different facades, and a new badge system for more security.

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