Paris police made five more arrests overnight, including a suspect they say was present at the Louvre robbery itself, but still haven’t retrieved any of the stolen jewels.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said at a press conference on Thursday that a major police operation across the city overnight had led to the arrest of five suspects overnight. She said DNA evidence left at the scene had led them to a suspect they had been holding “in our sights” they believe had been at the scene of the crime, and secret observation of that man allowed officers to discover the identity of four alleged co-conspirators.
The arrests were executed by the elite Banditry Repression Brigade, reports Le Figaro, and took place across Paris including in the 16th arrondissement, a wealthy western neighbourhood on the Seine, and in the notorious multicultural suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. The Daily Telegraph notes the prosecutor referred to the DNA-evidence man as a “prime suspect”.
Beccuau said while the four additional arrests may not have been on the scene of the actual heist, they may have supported the effort in other ways. She remarked: “One of them was one of the target of investigators; we have DNA evidence linking him to the theft. He is one of the suspects we had in our sights… As for the other individuals [arrested], they may be able to provide us with information about how the burglary unfolded”.
The prosecutor also made an appeal to whoever has the stolen historic jewels from the Louvre collection, stating “there is still time to return them”. So far, the only stolen piece back in public hands is a crown that was dropped by the thieves as they fled the scene.
The five fresh arrests take the total in custody over the grand heist to seven. Little has been revealed about any of those arrested, but the fact many of the arrests so far were in the infamous Seine-Saint-Denis neighbourhood and that at least one individual has been identified as an Algerian migrant has led to migration critics decrying the damage done to France by open borders.
Two people arrested on Sunday were both said by prosecutors to have been at the Louvre raid, meaning three of the four suspects who had physically undertaken the robbery are thought to be in custody. One of the Sunday arrests was that Algerian migrant. Aged 34, he is said to have lived in France since he was a teenager and he was traced by DNA left behind on a getaway motorbike.
He lived in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis and worked as a delivery driver.
The other man arrested on Sunday was a 39-year-old who lived in the same place and also worked as a delivery driver. He was previously known for the police for operating an illegal unlicensed taxi and for a case of theft.
One of the men was arrested while attempting to board a plane for Algeria. The other was arrested while attempting to flee to Mali.
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