Four Arrested, One Fugitive: Paris Prosecutor Outlines Progress in $102 Million Louvre Theft

Four suspects linked to the audacious October 19, 2025, heist at the Louvre Museum—where thieves made off with $102 million in crown jewels from the Apollo Gallery—have been formally charged and remanded in custody, as announced by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau on November 2. The operation, executed with military precision using disc cutters to breach display cases after arriving in a fake renovation lift truck, marks one of the most brazen daylight robberies in the iconic museum's history.

While the stolen gems, including diamond-encrusted tiaras and necklaces from Saudi and Indian royal collections, remain unrecovered, forensic breakthroughs like DNA traces on getaway scooters and shattered glass have fast-tracked the probe. French law shields the suspects' identities to safeguard the investigation, but authorities have disclosed key details highlighting their interconnected profiles from Paris's northern suburbs, amid a manhunt for the fourth fleeing accomplice and potential masterminds.

The primary duo accused of infiltrating the gallery consists of a 34-year-old Algerian national, residing in Aubervilliers since 2010, and a 39-year-old local man from the same suburb. The Algerian, nabbed at Charles de Gaulle Airport on October 25 en route to Algiers without a return ticket, matched DNA on a stolen scooter used in the escape; his record includes minor traffic violations and a single prior theft, though he once worked as a garbage collector and delivery driver.

Now unemployed, he faces charges of organised gang theft and criminal conspiracy after offering scant admissions. His counterpart, arrested the same day at home, left DNA on the ravaged display cases and discarded tools; a serial petty thief with an upcoming trial for prison vandalism (from which he was cleared), he operates an unlicensed taxi service and has partially acknowledged involvement, per Beccuau's "minimalist" interrogations.

Rounding out the charged quartet are a 37-year-old man and his 38-year-old partner, both apprehended on October 29 in La Courneuve, adjacent to Aubervilliers. The man, suspected as the lookout who helped position the lift truck to block entry, has a lengthy rap sheet of 11 convictions—10 for theft—including a 2015 Paris case shared with the 39-year-old suspect, underscoring their prior collaboration in organised crime. His DNA inside the truck's basket implicates him directly, though he vehemently denies any role. The woman, mother to their children and his long-time companion, is accused of complicity; trace DNA on the lift—potentially from secondary transfer via contact—forms the crux of her case, which her lawyer dismisses as circumstantial. She too rejects involvement, facing charges of aiding organised theft and conspiracy.

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Beccuau emphasised the suspects' "closeness", with two tied to the 2015 theft and all hailing from the Seine-Saint-Denis banlieues, known for socioeconomic challenges that sometimes foster petty crime networks. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez revealed ongoing probes into possible fences or commissioners, leveraging CCTV from the museum's glass pyramid entrance and surrounding streets. The heist evokes echoes

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