5 more jewel heist arrests made as Louvre probe deepens

Five additional suspects, including a prime suspect, have been arrested over this month's Louvre jewelry heist, but the stolen jewels — valued at about 88 million euros ($102 million) — remain missing, French authorities say.

Detectives have been hunting a four-person crew that used a truck-mounted lift and cutting tools to force entry into a first-floor gallery at the Paris museum on Oct 19 before making their getaway.

These latest arrests follow charges filed on Wednesday against two suspects detained on Saturday for theft and criminal conspiracy, believed to be the pair who entered the gallery while two accomplices waited outside.

Five more suspects were arrested in operations across Paris on Wednesday evening, the prosecutor's office said.

Speaking to RTL radio on Thursday, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the five suspects detained on Wednesday include a main suspect whose DNA links him to the seven-minute heist, and that none of the jewels have been recovered.

"We had him in our sights," she said. "The other individuals who are in police custody … may be able to provide us with information about the course of events."

However, it remained "too early "to give further details, she added.

Authorities have previously suggested the network behind the heist may extend beyond those who physically carried out the theft.

It means police have now detained three suspects believed to be part of the four-man crew seen on CCTV footage — the two detained on Saturday, plus the main suspect arrested on Wednesday. The fourth is still at large.

'Partial admission'

The two suspects detained on Saturday were charged on Wednesday with theft and criminal conspiracy after they "partially admitted" their involvement, prosecutors said in a news briefing, and were placed in pretrial detention.

One is a 34-year-old Algerian living in France, identified via DNA found on one of the getaway scooters, Agence France-Presse reported. The other is a 39-year-old unlicensed taxi driver from the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. Both have prior theft records and so were known to the police.

French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the "main suspect "arrested on Wednesday is one of the two motorcyclists present during the robbery. The paper said he had been identified and put under surveillance before his arrest. His identification led police to the other four suspects.