What to know about the Louvre heist investigation

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PARIS (AP) — More than 100 investigators are racing to piece together how thieves pulled off the brazen heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris, working to recover the stolen gems and bring those responsible to justice.

The daytime theft of centuries-old jewels from the world’s most-visited museum, thought to be of significant cultural and monetary value, has captured the world’s attention for its audacity and movie plot-like details.

Two suspects were arrested last weekend and five more were arrested overnight into Thursday. The seven in custody include three of four members of the suspected “commando” team that carried out the heist. Beyond the numbers, little has been revealed about how the investigation is unfolding, a source of frustration for those accustomed to the 24-hour flow of information in American true crime or British tabloids.

Suspects, like the jewels themselves, have remained out of sight, the case file cloaked in mystery and French authorities characteristically discreet.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that more details would come once the suspects’ custody period ends, expected midweek.

But here's what we know so far about the case:

Authorities have said that the heist was carried out using a truck-mounted lift — the kind movers use to reach upper floors — stolen nine days before the raid. The preservation of the lift kept intact a key source of evidence, the prosecutor said.

It took mere minutes for thieves to ride the lift up the side of the museum, smash display cases and steal eight objects worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) on Oct. 19. The haul included a sapphire diadem, necklace and an earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

Beccuau said an investigation was opened into potential charges of criminal conspiracy and organized theft, which can carry hefty fines and yearslong prison sentences.

Beccuau said investigators made arrests Saturday evening and late Wednesday into early Thursday. One suspect, she added, was stopped at a Paris airport while trying to leave the country for Algeria on Saturday.

The two taken into custody on Saturday, men aged 34 and 39 from Aubervilliers, north of Paris, were charged Wednesday with theft by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy after nearly 96 hours in custody. Beccuau said both gave “minimalist” statements and “partially admitted” their involvement.

But despite global attention, neither names nor extensive biographical details have been made public about those arrested. In France, where privacy laws are strict, images of criminal suspects are not made public as they often are elsewhere. Suspects aren’t paraded before cameras upon arrest or shown in mug shots.

James Whitman, a Yale Law School professor of comparative and foreign law, said the French are often startled by how openly criminal suspects are treated in the United States. Both countries technically protect the presumption of innocence but France takes the principle further.

“In France, naming suspects in the press is regarded as a violation of the presumption of innocence,” Whitman said.

Such was the case in 2011 when media outlets photographed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then head of the International Monetary Fund and a contender for France’s presidency, on a “perp walk” to a New York jail after he was indicted on charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid. The charges were eventually dismissed.

Information about investigations is meant to be secret under French law, to avoid compromising police work and to ensure victims' right to privacy, a policy known as "secret d’instruction.'' Only the prosecutor can speak publicly about developments, and violators can be prosecuted.

Police and investigators are not supposed to divulge information about arrests or suspects without the prosecutor's approval, though in high-profile cases, police union officials have leaked partial details. Beccuau on Saturday rued the leak of information about the ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors said last week that the two thieves who entered the museum were assisted by two others, who waited outside before fleeing along the Seine. Investigators say there is no sign of insider help for now.

The more than 100 investigators that Beccuau said are assigned to the case are combing through 150 DNA samples, surveillance footage and evidence left behind in the thieves’ wake.

Those assigned include the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry — the special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts — and the Central Office for the Fight Against Trafficking in Cultural Goods.

Recovering the jewels could be among the most difficult parts of investigators' work. French authorities have added the jewels to Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art Database, a global repository of about 57,000 missing cultural items.

Interpol, the world’s largest international police network, does not issue arrest warrants. But if authorities worry a suspect may flee, Interpol can circulate the information using a color-coded notice system.

The French investigators can also work with European authorities if required. They can turn to the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, or its law enforcement agency, Europol. Eurojust works through judicial cooperation between prosecutors and magistrates, while Europol works with police agencies.

Both can help facilitate investigations and arrests throughout the 27-member bloc. Requests for help must come from the national authorities, and neither organization can initiate an investigation.

Extensive information about suspects is not routinely published in France while an investigation is ongoing. Trials are open to the public but are not televised, and no one is allowed to film or photograph anything inside the courtroom during a trial.

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Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco. Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.