Authorities in France have detained two men in connection with the Louvre Museum robbery that resulted in the theft of eight priceless crown jewels. DNA traces discovered at the museum enabled investigators to identify the suspects, both aged in their 30s and originating from Seine-Saint-Denis, a Paris suburb, The Telegraph reported. The stolen jewelry remains unrecovered.
Authorities apprehended one suspect Saturday night at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport as he attempted to board an outbound flight in the aftermath of last week's heist, which lasted seven minutes. Le Parisien reported the suspect was intercepted while trying to board an Algeria-bound flight, while the second man was making preparations to depart for Mali, according to Le Figaro.
Two suspects linked to the $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre Museum were arrested Saturday night, one at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport trying to flee to Algeria, the other in the Paris region. The theft occurred last Sunday in the Apollo Gallery, where thieves used a lift… pic.twitter.com/XfqgqpSpWn
— Erez Linn ארז לין (@Latestbignews) October 26, 2025
The men are believed to be members of the masked burglar gang that penetrated the Louvre museum last Sunday before making off with jewellery valued at £76 million. Already familiar to law enforcement, the suspects were characterized as "seasoned burglars" by police, The Telegraph reported. The Banditry Repression Brigade in Paris's 17th arrondissement now holds them in custody for interrogation.
Investigators continue pursuing the remaining two suspects while examining whether a conventional crime organization or an art trafficking network orchestrated the theft, The Telegraph reported.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau criticized the initial reports in a letter to Le Figaro, which disseminated confidential information about the apprehensions, according to The Telegraph. "I deeply deplore the hasty disclosure of this information by informed persons, without consideration for the investigation. This revelation can only harm the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators involved in the search for both the stolen jewels and all the criminals. It is too early to provide any details."
However, France's interior minister expressed his "warmest congratulations" to the investigators on X regarding the recent developments, stating they had been working tirelessly on the case, The Telegraph reported.
Law enforcement successfully retrieved 150 DNA samples from the array of items the group abandoned, including a scooter helmet, a blowtorch, a walkie-talkie, a yellow vest, and a blanket, The Telegraph reported. "More than 150 samples of DNA, papillary and other traces were taken," Beccuau stated Friday, according to The Telegraph. "The analyses require time limits, even if they are a priority for the labs. We are expecting feedback in the coming days, which may be able to provide us with leads, especially if the perpetrators were on file."
Beccuau additionally verified that law enforcement utilized CCTV to track the gang's movements on two Yamaha TMax scooters, stating that video surveillance from public and private cameras "made it possible to follow their route in Paris and in neighbouring departments," The Telegraph reported.
Two men arrested over $100M Louvre Museum jewel heist — as one suspect was busted at airport trying to flee country: report https://t.co/hhScZVxzAK pic.twitter.com/3TODtTMckc
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Sunday saw Nuñez dismiss a proposal to establish a police station within the Louvre following requests from the museum's director, The Telegraph reported. "I'm against it. If we start with the Louvre, we'll put them everywhere," Nuñez stated in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, a weekly newspaper, The Telegraph reported. "The current police station is right next to the Louvre. As soon as there was an alert, the police were there within three minutes." A police station located in the museum "would not have changed anything," Nuñez asserted, emphasizing that the tourist-saturated area represents the most heavily policed section of Paris, The Telegraph reported.
On Friday, a portion of the museum's remaining jewelry collection was transferred to the Bank of France, the national central bank of France, under police escort, The Telegraph reported. The collection now resides in a vault buried 85 feet (26 meters) underground, which additionally houses France's gold reserves and other national treasures, including Leonardo da Vinci's Notebooks valued at an estimated €600 million ($680 million), Le Figaro noted, according to The Telegraph.
