Fourth suspect charged in Louvre jewel heist investigation | News

Prosecutors say the suspect charged in the daring Louvre robbery has six previous convictions.

France has charged the fourth alleged member of a gang of four arrested in connection with last month’s Louvre jewelry heist, officials said.

Prosecutor Laure Becuau, whose office is leading the investigation, said Friday that the 39-year-old man has a criminal record, including six previous convictions.

On October 19, the gang raided the world’s most visited art museum in broad daylight, taking just seven minutes to steal an estimated $102 million worth of jewelery before fleeing on scooters.

“The man, who has already been convicted six times, was known to the courts for various crimes such as pimping, driving without a license and receiving stolen goods,” Becuau said in a statement.

The prosecutor’s statement did not say what exactly the man’s role was in the robbery.

Four suspects believed to have carried out the robbery have now been arrested. They have been charged with organized theft and criminal conspiracy. The stolen jewelery is still missing.

The last suspected member of the gang was arrested on Tuesday at a construction site in the western French city of Laval, according to a source close to the case.

The other suspects already detained – men aged 35, 37 and 39 – are suspected to have been part of a team of four, two of whom entered the Apollo Gallery while the other two remained outside before fleeing together.

A 38-year-old woman, the partner of one of the men, is suspected of complicity. He has been released on bail.

The robbery has focused attention on security at the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum.

It took less than eight minutes for the thieves to force their way into the museum and escape by using a freight elevator to gain access to the building’s window. Footage from museum cameras showed that the two men who broke into the ornate Apollo Gallery used a grinder to cut through jewelery display cases.

The emerald-studded royal tiara of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum.