Louvre heist: one woman charged and jailed, another suspect released

Saturday 01 November 2025 - 16:30

By: Sahili Aya

Louvre heist: one woman charged and jailed, another suspect released

French authorities have charged and jailed a 38-year-old woman in connection with the spectacular Louvre Museum heist in Paris, while another suspect has been released without charges. The stolen jewelry, valued at €88 million, remains missing.

The woman, arrested last Wednesday in the Paris region alongside four others, faces charges of complicity in organized theft and criminal conspiracy, and has been placed in pre-trial detention, as requested by the Paris prosecutor’s office. Another suspect was freed on Friday after questioning, with no charges filed.

Among those detained is a presumed member of the gang that carried out the October 19 robbery in under eight minutes, authorities said, with DNA evidence linking him to the crime. Other detainees are believed to provide information on the heist. Two additional suspects, aged 34 and 39, were arrested on October 25 and have also been charged and jailed.

Paris prosecutors and a team of over 100 investigators are working to recover the stolen jewels, exploring parallel markets where the items may appear, as officials doubt the pieces will surface on the legal art market.

The heist has prompted international scrutiny over museum security. France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati released preliminary findings of an internal review, highlighting structural security deficiencies, outdated theft protocols, and governance issues at the Louvre.

During the robbery, the thieves used a truck-mounted lift to access the gallery holding the Crown Jewels, bypassing existing security measures in a carefully executed operation that shocked the world.