Investigators say the four suspects in custody on suspicion of involvement in last month’s spectacular robbery at the Louvre are local petty criminals with no ties to organized crime.
Paris prosecutor Laure Becuaux said the group of three men and one woman lived in or around the Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb north of the French capital.
One of the men is a 37-year-old with 11 previous convictions, 10 of them for robbery, Baquo said in an interview with radio station France Info on Sunday.
She said the man had a “various criminal history, but not one that would typically suggest involvement in organized crime.”
Another suspect has 15 previous convictions, including two for robbery, Bequo added.
He said the two men were convicted of involvement in the same robbery in Paris in 2015.
One of the men is in a long-term relationship with a 38-year-old woman who is in custody.
“They’re clearly locals,” Bequo said.
Asked whether he thought the suspect’s profile was unusual, Mr Bequo said: “I don’t think it’s that surprising. What we’re seeing now is that people who don’t have any significant ties to organized crime are committing very serious crimes relatively quickly.”
On October 19, thieves attacked the Apollo Museum, located on the upper floor of the Louvre, which houses France’s treasures.
They used a ladder attached to a truck to access the gallery, one of the museum’s most ornate rooms, through a window.
They broke into two heavily guarded display cases and made off with nine items, including a diamond and sapphire jewelry set worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense.
