Pallade Veneta - France arrests five new suspects over Louvre heist: prosecutor

Dozens of detectives have been hunting for four thieves who used a truck with a moving lift and cutting gear to break into a first-floor gallery at the museum on October 19, fleeing with jewellery worth an estimated $102 million.

The latest arrests come after two suspects were charged on Wednesday with theft and criminal conspiracy. They are suspected of being the two who broke into the gallery while two accomplices waited outside.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the five suspects detained on Wednesday included a main suspect whose DNA linked him to the brazen seven-minute heist, though none of the loot had been found.

"We had him in our sights," she said.

"As for the other individuals who are in police custody, they are people who may be able to provide us with information about the course of events." She said it was "too early" to give additional details about the suspects.

The five detentions took place in and around Paris, particularly in Seine-Saint-Denis, a region just outside the French capital.

Two suspects detained on Saturday were charged on Wednesday evening with theft and criminal conspiracy after they "partially admitted to the charges", according to prosecutors.

They were placed in pre-trial detention.

One is a 34-year-old Algerian living in France, who was identified by DNA traces found on one of the scooters used to flee the heist.

The second suspect is a 39-year-old unlicensed taxi driver from the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.

Both were known to the police for having committed thefts.

The first was arrested as he was about to board a plane for Algeria at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

The second was apprehended shortly after near his home, and "there is no evidence to suggest that he was planning to go abroad", the prosecutor said.

- Wider-scale operation? -

Last week, Beccuau told media that detectives were investigating "150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other traces".

She said public and private security cameras had allowed detectives to track the thieves -- some of whom wore balaclavas and high-visibility vests during the heist carried out in broad daylight -- in Paris and surrounding districts.

Beccuau on Wednesday said while investigators were certain of the involvement of four perpetrators, they had not ruled out the possibility of a wider-scale operation "involving a backer or individuals who may have been intended recipients".

But she said nothing pointed to "any complicity within the museum".

The thieves dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, as they escaped.

The museum's director has said it was crushed while it was extracted from the display case, but could probably be restored.

The burglars however made off with eight other items of jewellery.

R.Lagomarsino--PV