The two suspects arrested on Wednesday, October 29, and charged with “theft by an organized gang and the formation of a criminal group with the intention of committing a felony,” the Parisio prosecutor’s office announced. Both were sent to jail as the jury found there was sufficient evidence of their guilt in the cinematic robbery of the Louvre.

Lawyers for one of the defendants said that “there is a huge difference between the nature of this case and the quite ordinary personality of our client,” stressing the need for “absolute respect for the confidentiality of the investigation and interrogation,” according to Le Monde.

“They partially acknowledged the facts.”

The Paris prosecutor, Laure Becoeur, said the two men “partially acknowledged the facts”. According to her, they are believed to be the physical perpetrators who broke into the Apollo Gallery and removed the jewels of the French crown in a robbery that lasted less than eight minutes.

The first suspect, 34 years old and of Algerian nationality, was arrested on Saturday, 25 October at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, shortly before leaving for Algeria without a return ticket. The second, 39, was arrested half an hour later near his home in Aubervilliers, a Paris suburb.

Authorities were able to identify the perpetrators thanks to the trace DNA found on one of the scooters they used to escape. The 34-year-old, a resident of France since 2010, was already known to authorities for traffic violations and a theft conviction.

The 39-year-old, also a resident of Oberville, said he was working illegally as a taxi driver and had previously worked as a delivery driver. He was convicted of grand theft in 2008 and 2014 and is under court supervision for another case that will be heard in November. His DNA was found on broken display cases and items abandoned by the offenders in their escape.

Eight jewels worth €88 million

According to the prosecutor, the perpetrators seized eight pieces of French crown jewelry, worth €88 million. “These jewels are now absolutely impossible to sell,” Beko said, noting that “anyone who buys them will be guilty of receiving the proceeds of crime.”

Police are investigating whether there was a wider ring or a possible perpetrator. So far, four perpetrators have been positively identified as being involved, with no evidence of internal complicity at the museum.

The cinematic robbery

The robbery occurred on October 19, around 9:30 in the morning. The gang members parked a lift vehicle on the François Mitterrand dock, below the museum, and two of them, with their faces covered, rode a platform up to the Apollo Gallery. They used wheels to break a window and the display cases containing the jewelry, and escaped on two scooters. The robbery was completed within eight minutes.

During their escape, the perpetrators abandoned the Empress Eugenia’s crown, which was damaged. “The director of the Louvre, Laurence de Carre, expressed concern about the difficulty of restoring it,” the prosecutor said.

Mass search with more than 100 police officers

More than 100 police officers are involved in the investigation, and more than 150 DNA samples and fingerprints have been collected from the museum site and home searches.

About 150 police officers and more than 150 police officers have been interviewed and questioned.

Despite the arrests, the precious jewels remain unaccounted for, with the prosecutor expressing hope that they will be returned “to the Louvre Museum and, more broadly, to the nation.”