Two additional suspects have been arrested for alleged involvement in the Louvre Museum jewels heist.
According to the Associated Press, one of the suspects, a 37-year-old man, was charged with theft and conspiracy, and has participated in previous robberies. The second suspect, a 38-year-old woman, was alleged to have been a co-conspirator. Both have denied involvement, with an attorney for the woman stating that their client is "devastated" about the allegations.
"She does not understand how she is implicated in any of the elements she is accused of," said lawyer Adrien Sorrentino.
The jewels, worth $102 million, from the October 19 heist have yet to be recovered. The arrest total in the daytime jewelry robbery nears ten, after The New York Times via French radio station RTL reported that at least four of the participants were "people who may potentially inform [police] about the unfolding of these events." Three others were released from custody without charges.
Among the jewels that were stolen were a Empress Eugénie’s pearl-and-diamond tiara and diamond-and-emerald necklace gifted to Empress Marie-Louis by Napoleon.
The theft reportedly took eight minutes for the thieves to pull off, with a group of four using a freight lift to open a window and museum display cases in the Apollon Gallery. Once the jewels were removed, the group escaped on two scooters.
As a crew of 100 investigators continues to gather information about the heist, one of the suspects was apprehended at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport while attempting to board a flight to Algeria.
"Everything obviously begins with the DNA traces, the fingerprints, everything that can be found at the scene," stated French magistrate Laure Beccuau. "Then, we have everything related to video surveillance, and then we have their phones, and then we have the discovery of other objects during the searches, and brick by brick, the investigation is being built and tightening around those who may be involved."
