Two more suspects charged over Louvre heist

Two more people have been charged with allegedly participating in a recent jewel heist at France’s Louvre Museum, according to the Paris prosecutor, just days after they were detained by Paris police as part of a comprehensive investigation.

A 37-year-old suspect was accused of theft by an organized gang and a criminal conspiracy, according to Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau in a statement on Saturday, while a 38-year-old woman is accused of being an accomplice.

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Both have been detained and have not yet pleaded guilty, according to Beccuau.

Adrien Sorrentino, the woman’s attorney, claimed Adrien Sorrentino’s client is “devastated” by the woman’s allegations.

He claimed that “she does not comprehend how she is a part of any of the things she is accused of.”

One of the five people who had their DNA at the crime scene when the case was being investigated by Paris police on Wednesday was identified as a suspect. According to Beccuau, three of them have been freed without charges. Total, seven people have been detained.

In broad daylight last month, thieves stealing jewelry worth an estimated $ 102 million took just seven minutes to break into the Louvre, the world’s most popular art museum.

Two male suspects’ arrests were initially announced by French authorities as part of the Louvre robbery.

After “partially admitting to the charges,” Beccuau said this week, the two men were charged with theft and criminal conspiracy.

The two suspected of being the two who entered the gallery while two accomplices sat outside.

Both of Aubervilliers, a suburb of Paris, were once there.

One of the scooters used to flee the heist was identified as a 34-year-old Algerian national who lives in France. The second man is a 39-year-old unlicensed taxi driver.

Both had theft histories, according to the police.

The first was detained at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport as he prepared to board an aircraft bound for Algeria.

The second was apprehended close to his home shortly after, according to the prosecution, and there was no evidence to support his intentions to travel abroad.

The loot is still missing, though.

As they fled, the thieves dropped an Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, with a diamond- and emerald-studded crown.

Eight more jewelry pieces were taken from the burglars.

A diadem once owned by the Empress Eugenie and a chain of emerald-and-diamond necklaces that Napoleon I gave to his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise, are included among them, which are dotted with nearly 2, 000 diamonds.

The Louvre director claimed last week that the museum’s security staff “did not soon detect the arrival of the thieves.”