Louvre heist suspects to be charged, jewels not recovered: Paris prosecutor

(PARIS) — The Paris public prosecutor reported on Wednesday that investigators are making “major progress” in solving the brazen Oct. 19 Louvre Museum heist and said two suspects in custody will be charged with “organized robbery.”

During a news conference on Wednesday, Laure Beccuau, the Paris Public Prosecutor, released new information about the two suspects arrested last weekend, but said the stolen jewels remain missing.

Beccuau said that if the suspects are convicted, they’ll face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and heavy fines.

A 96-hour deadline for charging or releasing the suspects was set to expire on Wednesday. Both suspects are from the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, authorities previously said.

Beccuau also said in her press conference that the two suspects arrested on Saturday “partially admitted their involvement in the events to investigators.”

A massive manhunt continued on Wednesday for at least two other suspects in the robbery. Beccuau said she has not ruled out the possibility that more perpetrators were involved in the heist, but added that, at this stage, evidence has not suggested any additional accomplices.

Beccuau said trace DNA recovered from a scooter used in the heist and a window at the Louvre helped investigators identify the suspects, whose names have not been released.

One man was arrested about 8 p.m. local time on Saturday at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport as he was about to leave the country without a return ticket, Beccuau said. She said the suspect has lived in France since 2010 and had been convicted of a previous robbery.

Beccuau said the second suspect is a taxi driver who was arrested at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday near his home. She said the suspect’s DNA was found on one of the windows at the Louvre.

Beccuau said the suspect had been previously convicted of “aggravated robberies” in 2008 and 2014.

Investigators previously told ABC News that the second suspect was arrested as he was about to travel to Mali, but on Wednesday, Beccuau said the man had no intention of leaving the country.

ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report.

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