© RMN – Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) Mathieu RabeauTwo more people have been charged over a theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris last month, French media report.
A 38-year-old woman, who has not been named, is being prosecuted for complicity in organised theft and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime. Another person was also charged on Saturday. Details are yet to be made public.
The two were detained earlier this week with three others. Two men who had previously been arrested were already charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after officials said they had “partially recognised” their involvement in the heist.
Jewels worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the world’s most-visited museum on 19 October.
Louvre Museum
Louvre MuseumFour men carried out the lightning-quick daylight theft.
Two of the alleged thieves – who had been arrested earlier – later admitted their involvement. Another person arrested this week is thought to have taken part in the heist, while the fourth has not yet been caught.
On Saturday, the woman who has been charged was in tears as she appeared before a magistrate and confirmed that she lived in Paris’s northern suburb of La Courneuve, a journalist working for the AFP news agency reported.
The magistrate later ruled that she must stay in custody.
Another person was also charged – it was not immediately known what the charges were.
The two were among the five people arrested earlier this week in and around the French capital. Three of those held have been released without charge.
On the day of the heist, the robbers arrived at 09:30 (07:30 GMT), just after the museum opened to visitors, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said last week.
The suspects arrived with a stolen vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine. The men used a disc cutter to crack open display cases housing the jewellery.
Prosecutors said the thieves were inside for four minutes and made their escape on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38, before switching to cars.
One of the stolen items – a crown – was dropped during the escape. The other seven jewels have not been found.
It was later revealed by the Louvre’s director that the only camera monitoring the Galerie d’Apollon was pointing away from a balcony the thieves climbed over to break in.
Since the incident, security measures have been tightened around France’s cultural institutions.
The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France following the heist.
