Louvre Robbery Suspects Identified as Small-Time Criminals, Not Organized Crime Professionals
Paris prosecutors said the $102 million Louvre jewel heist was executed by common criminals, including a couple formally indicted Saturday.
November 2, 2025 - 03:15 PM ET • 2 min read
The audacious daylight robbery of historical jewels valued at $102 million (88 million euros) from the Louvre Museum in Paris on October 19 was carried out by common criminals, not professional organized crime figures, according to Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau.
Speaking Sunday, Beccuau confirmed that three of the four presumed thieves involved in the heist have been detained. Among those formally indicted Saturday were a couple (a 38-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man) who have children. Their identities have not been released, but their profiles do not align with those "generally associated with the highest levels of organized criminality," Beccuau told French media.
The prosecutor described the suspects as "profiles of proximity people" or small-time criminals, potentially from the northern suburbs of Paris, rather than professional gangsters. She noted that while they may not fit the typical organized crime mold, individuals with limited criminal backgrounds can quickly escalate to committing extremely serious crimes.
Further investigation revealed that two of the indicted individuals had previously been convicted together in 2015 for a separate theft case in Paris.
The couple was formally indicted Saturday after investigators found DNA traces on the elevating platform used during the robbery. Authorities noted that the traces belonging to the man were "important," while the traces linked to the woman required further analysis to determine the extent of her involvement, potentially stemming from contact.
The jewels remain missing, despite the arrests of three suspects.
The robbery, which lasted less than seven minutes, occurred on a Sunday morning. Two men parked a moving truck equipped with an elevating platform outside the museum, ascended to the second floor, broke a window, and used angle grinders or radial saws to smash open display cases containing the historical jewels. They then fled the scene on scooters driven by two accomplices.
The prosecutor emphasized that the successful execution of the high-value heist by individuals not known for high-level organized crime demonstrates that some lesser-known criminals are capable of making a rapid jump into major offenses.