Louvre Museum heist: Two arrested a week after theft of priceless jewels 

PARIS: Two people have been arrested in connection with the theft of jewellery from the Louvre Museum. The arrests come a week after the theft of valuable jewellery. The theft happened on the 19th of this month. Eight jewels worth $102 million were stolen from the Apollo Gallery through a balcony on the second floor of the Louvre Museum.

Thieves stole jewelry which included: A sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; and Empress Eugénie’s diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch, a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble. “Individuals entered from outside with a cherry picker (a kind of hydraulic ladder) and stole priceless jewelry,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

A stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, seemingly dropped during the getaway. French media outlets reported that the 'dropped' piece had been broken, and it is a 19th-century crown belonging to Empress Eugenie. This crown features golden eagles and is covered in a total of 1,354 diamonds, 1,136 of which are rose-cut, and 56 emeralds.

The thieves entered the Apollo Gallery through a section of the museum that was under construction. An exhibition of the French Crown Jewels was being held there at that time. The thieves broke into the building by using disc cutters to break the windows. The theft was completed in about seven minutes. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. About 30,000 visitors come here a day. It houses 33,000 antique objects, including sculptures and paintings.