A person suspected of being the fourth member of the gang behind final month’s Louvre heist was arrested yesterday (25 November) within the small metropolis of Laval, 280km west of Paris.
Le Parisien newspaper studies that the suspect has a felony document and has been charged with organised theft and felony conspiracy. He’s believed to have hyperlinks to the three alleged members of the gang who had already been arrested.
Three relations of the suspect had been additionally taken into custody on Tuesday and are being questioned by the anti-gang squad. “They’re two males aged 38 and 39, and two ladies aged 31 and 40, all from the Paris area,” Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, mentioned in a press release.
The prosecutor declined to offer any extra particulars on the arrests earlier than the tip of the suspect’s detention interval. Underneath French legislation, they are often held for 4 days.
Media studies have recognized the three males beforehand charged in reference to the theft as Ayed G, Slimane Ok and Abdoulaye N. It’s believed that they had been already recognized to police in relation to a number of thefts and visitors offences.
The seven-minute assault on the Louvre passed off on 19 October and noticed thieves make off with French crown jewels, valued at €88m. Although the heist at first appeared to be the work of seasoned professionals, the prosecutor has since acknowledged that they weren’t “excessive stage organised criminals”.
The following safety scandal within the wake of the theft has left Louvre director Laurence des Vehicles struggling to avoid wasting her grand mission for a brand new entrance to the Louvre. The deliberate growth would result in a 22,000 sq. m underground advanced across the Mona Lisa and an exhibition corridor.
Shortly after the theft, the state auditing physique revealed a scathing report concluding the Louvre had “chosen seen and engaging occasions” over the protection of its collections. It additionally described the plan for a brand new entrance, which has an estimated price range of €666m, as “financially unsound”. The highest precedence, it mentioned, must be given to urgently restoring important infrastructure.
Defending her place within the French parliament final week, des Vehicles mentioned she ”completely opposed” these conclusions, and argued that the mission for the brand new entrance must be integrated with the technical upkeep of the palace, for a complete price range reaching greater than €1.1bn.
