Reuters. Two men arrested on suspicion of stealing jewels from the Louvre Museum have "partially admitted" their involvement in the daylight heist but the precious pieces remain missing, the Paris prosecutor said on Wednesday (October 29).
Four hooded thieves made off with their booty after breaking into the Louvre's Apollo gallery, home to the French Crown Jewels, during opening hours on the morning of October 19, exposing security lapses at the world's most-visited museum.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the two men in detention were suspected of breaking into the museum through an upstairs window, while two accomplices waited on the street below.
"Both have partially admitted their involvement to investigators," she told a press conference.
Beccuau said investigators would be asking magistrates to place the two men under formal investigation on suspicion of multiple organised theft offences.
Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial but shows judicial authorities consider there is enough evidence to pursue a preliminary probe.
News of the robbery reverberated around the world, prompting soul-searching in France over what some viewed as a national humiliation.
