It took the French police almost a week to make the first arrests in connection with the investigation into the theft of jewels belonging to French kings from the Apollo Gallery.
Two individuals suspected of involvement in the impressive Louvre heist have been arrested, Le Parisien reported on Sunday morning.
According to the publication, the two men were arrested on Saturday evening and taken into custody by the judicial police as part of an investigation into "organized group theft" and "criminal conspiracy to commit a crime."
France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez congratulated the police on the successful operation.
Paris Match and France Inter, citing police sources, report that at least one person was arrested at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport as he was about to board a flight to Algeria.
In connection with the robbery, four suspects are being sought. Last Sunday, four suspects broke into the famous museum in broad daylight, which is visited by more than 8 million people each year. They used a freight elevator to access a balcony leading to the Apollo Gallery, broke a window, and entered two of three new display cases. From there, they stole eight jewels belonging to the ruling families of France in the 19th century, before fleeing on scooters.
The theft lasted between six to seven minutes.
The security system failure has caused public outrage and raised numerous questions about the chain of responsibility. The investigation suspects collusion between the criminals and museum security staff. It is reported that the police have correspondence with the robbers, as well as information sent to them by museum staff regarding the placement of cameras and alarms.
According to the estimates of the Paris prosecutor, the value of the jewels stolen from the Louvre last week amounted to 88 million euros, but this monetary estimate does not include their historical value to France.
On Saturday, French media learned that the Louvre had moved part of the remaining jewels in its collection to the Bank of France's vaults, located 27 meters underground.
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