Small-Time Criminals Arrested For £76m Louvre Jewel Heist

The recent audacious jewel heist at the Louvre Museum, involving the theft of an estimated €88 million worth of French imperial jewels, was conducted by small-time criminals rather than professional organized crime members, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau. The thieves used a truck with an extendable ladder to access the museum's second floor, broke windows, and used angle grinders to open display cases before fleeing on scooters, completing the robbery in under seven minutes. Authorities have arrested five individuals, including a couple with children residing in the northern suburbs of Paris, but none of the stolen jewels have yet been recovered. The suspects' profiles do not match those typically associated with the upper echelons of organized crime, and at least one other suspect remains at large, believed to be the mastermind. Evidence such as DNA found on the lift used during the heist has aided in the arrests, though the couple charged have denied involvement. The suspects are described as local residents of Seine-Saint-Denis, a low-income area north of Paris, and some have past convictions for theft.