Two more charged in connection with Louvre jewel heist

Paris: A woman and a man were placed under formal investigation over the $US102 million ($156 million) Louvre Museum jewel heist, the Paris prosecutor said, bringing the total number charged in the case to four.

The man, 37, was charged with organised theft and criminal conspiracy. The woman, 38, was charged with complicity in organised theft and criminal conspiracy.

Three other people who were arrested along with the man and the woman on October 29 were freed without charge, the prosecutor’s office said.

The two new suspects were brought before investigating judges and remained in pre-trial detention, the prosecutor said. Both deny involvement in the heist.

The prosecutor gave no further details about them, but French media reported that the woman was from La Courneuve, a suburb north of Paris.

The lawyer for the woman, Adrien Sorrentino, told reporters his client was “devastated” because she disputed the accusations.

“She does not understand how she is implicated in any of the elements she is accused of,” he said.

The prosecutor said last week that the first two suspects charged in the case had “partially admitted” their involvement.

They included a 34-year-old Algerian who has lived in France since 2010 and was detained by police as he tried to board a flight to Algeria, and a 39-year-old who was already under judicial supervision in an aggravated theft case. Both live in Aubervilliers, a low-income neighbourhood in northern Paris.

Neither names nor extensive biographical details about those arrested have been made public.

The prosecutor said investigations were continuing. So far, no trace of the stolen jewels has been found.

Two weeks ago, two hooded thieves used a movers’ lift to reach a second-floor window, smashed the jewels’ display cases using power tools, and fled on the back of scooters driven by two accomplices.

The heist has sent shockwaves around the world as it exposed security flaws at the world’s most-visited museum.

Information about investigations is meant to be secret under French law, to avoid compromising police work and to ensure victims’ right to privacy, a policy known as “secret d’instruction”. Only the prosecutor can speak publicly about developments, and violators can be prosecuted.

In a separate case, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said six people were arrested on Thursday soon after a robbery at a gold refining laboratory in the city of Lyon during which thieves used explosives. The loot, which was estimated to be worth €12 million ($21.2 million) was recovered, Nuñez said on X.

Reuters, AP

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