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The investigation into the spectacular Louvre Museum jewel heist continues to widen as five more suspects were arrested Wednesday in Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris, according to Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

The arrests bring the total number of detainees to seven in connection with the October 19 theft, which saw nine priceless royal jewels stolen from the museum’s Galerie d’Apollon.

Beccuau confirmed on French radio station RTL that one of the newly arrested suspects could be a “major person of interest” after DNA evidence was recovered from a helmet left at the crime scene. “The jewels remain missing,” Beccuau said, adding that investigators are intensifying efforts to recover the pieces before they are lost or dismantled.

Louvre Jewelry Heist: Two Suspects Admit Partial Involvement in $102 Million Crown Jewel Theft - USA Herald

Suspects Identified Through DNA and Surveillance

According to ABC News, French police identified one of the suspects after matching trace DNA from the crime scene to a known criminal. That discovery allowed authorities to place him under both phone and physical surveillance before the arrests were made.

Two of the original suspects — men in their 30s from Seine-Saint-Denis — were arrested last weekend. One was captured at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he tried to board a flight to Algeria, while the other was apprehended later in Paris.

Both men are dual citizens, one of France and Mali, the other of France and Algeria, and are known to the police from previous burglary investigations.

Beccuau said Wednesday that the suspect, allegedly bound for Mali, had “no intention of leaving the country,” contradicting earlier reports.

Damaged Crown Found Near Louvre Museum

The French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed in an interview with ABC News that one of the stolen artifacts — a gold, diamond, and emerald crown once belonging to Empress Eugénie — was found damaged and lying on the ground near the Louvre Museum shortly after the theft.

“This was a simple, but spectacular operation,” Dati said. “They knew exactly where they were going. It looks like something very organized and very professional.”

The crown, part of a set of nine royal jewels, was dropped or abandoned as the thieves made their getaway. The remaining eight pieces, including items once owned by Napoleon III’s wife, Queen Marie-Amélie, and Empress Marie Louise, are still unaccounted for.

Inside Job Under Investigation

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of inside assistance. “We are still determining whether a source inside the Louvre may have had a role in the theft,” a police spokesperson told Le Monde. Digital forensics teams are reportedly examining museum staff communications and security system logs for irregularities.

The Louvre Museum, one of the world’s most visited cultural landmarks, has since transferred many of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France for safekeeping.

Louvre Museum Heist: An International Case

With suspects connected to multiple countries and stolen treasures potentially trafficked abroad, French police have coordinated with Interpol to track leads in North Africa and Western Europe.

“The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.”