Mega coup before clarification

Bang after Louvre robbery: men arrested

80 to 100 investigators were deployed to track down the crooks. Over 150 DNA, fingerprint and other traces were secured on site and on a helmet, grinding machines, gloves and a vest.(Bild: AP)

Following the spectacular break-in at the Louvre in Paris last Sunday, the police have arrested two suspects. No details have yet been released about who may be behind the crime.

According to "Le Parisien", two arrests were made on Saturday evening following the historic break-in at the famous museum. One of the men was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria.

According to "Le Figaro", the criminal investigation department arrested a second suspect in the Seine-Saint-Denis department at the same time. The two men, both known to the police, were convicted on the basis of DNA traces.

Between 80 and 100 investigators were deployed to track down the crooks. Over 150 DNA, fingerprint and other traces were secured on site and on a helmet, grinding machines, gloves and a vest.(Bild: AFP/AFP )

Bandits in custody
Two representatives of the investigating authorities told AFP on Sunday that the two men were in custody on suspicion of gang theft and forming a criminal organization.

Both suspects are said to come from the Paris region and belong to a four-man gang that is believed to be responsible for the spectacular robbery.

150 traces secured
"Over 150 DNA, fingerprint and other traces were secured on site and on a helmet, grinding machines, gloves, a vest and so on that were used and left behind by the burglars," Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told the newspaper "Ouest-France". 

Images from public and private cameras analyzed
The video surveillance "made it possible to follow their route in Paris and the neighbouring departments". Enormous effort was required to "evaluate all available images from public and private cameras in areas that could correspond to different escape routes".

During the break-in on Sunday, eight crown jewels worth around 88 million euros were stolen from the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon. The spectacular case had also triggered a debate about the security precautions in the museum.

Between 80 and 100 investigators were deployed to track down the crooks. With success.(Bild: AP/Thibault Camus)

Only a fraction of the stolen art is returned
Experts estimate the return rate at around eight percent of all stolen art objects. A look at previous cases of art theft shows that a large proportion of the loot has disappeared forever. This includes a painting by the important French landscape painter Jean-Baptiste Corot, which was stolen from the Louvre in 1998, as well as five works by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani and Léger from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

Probably one of the most spectacular burglaries took place in 1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. 13 works worth 500 million dollars (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.) were stolen there - and never found again - despite the FBI offering a reward of ten million dollars. Empty frames have been hanging there ever since.