Authorities in France have arrested five more individuals in connection with the theft of extraordinarily precious gems from the Louvre Museum.
Items associated with France’s former monarchy, worth an estimated €88 million, or more than $100 million, were stolen from the famed Paris museum in a breathtaking daytime theft that lasted only seven minutes on Sunday, October 19.
According to the AFP, the burglars used small chainsaws and angle grinders to gain access to their target room.
According to a translated interview, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has now informed RTL radio that five fresh suspects were arrested on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 29, at around 9 p.m. local time. The missing jewels have yet to be recovered.
“I can confirm five new arrests in Paris and [neighboring department] Seine-Saint-Denis in connection with the Louvre Museum theft,” a Paris Prosecutor’s Office official told PEOPLE via email on Thursday, October 30.
The BBC said that the additional suspects might be kept for up to four days before being charged or released.
The most recent arrests came after two males caught in connection with the heist on October 25 “partially admitted their involvement in the events to investigators,” Beccuau said during a press conference, according to ABC News.
According to France 24, DNA evidence has linked a primary suspect to the theft, citing Beccuau. The prosecutor claimed this implied he was part of the four-man gang that carried out the theft over two weeks ago, but she added that it was “too early” to provide more information on the suspects, according to the site.
According to the BBC, Beccuau believes the gang responsible for the crime may be more than the four guys recorded on CCTV.
ABC News reported on Wednesday that the two men in custody had been charged with organized robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony in connection with the incident, citing the prosecutor. Both suspects have been remanded into custody and will remain there until their trial.
If convicted, the suspects may face up to 15 years in prison and significant fines, according to the site.
The two males were arrested after the Paris Banditry Repression Brigade (BRB) and the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods (OCBC) led an investigation into the robbery on Saturday, according to French newspapers Le Parisien and Paris Match.
One person was apprehended at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport at 10 p.m. local time on Saturday while reportedly attempting to board a flight to Algeria. According to the publications, a second person was captured shortly after in Paris. The men are approximately 30 years old and are from Seine-Saint-Denis, France.
The jewels seized in the theft included a sapphire tiara, a sapphire necklace, and a single sapphire earring worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, as well as the “reliquary brooch,” according to Reuters.
A matching emerald necklace and earrings worn by Napoleon’s second wife, Marie-Louise, were also stolen, as were Empress Eugénie’s tiara and enormous brooch.
The tiara was later discovered damaged outside the museum, according to Reuters.
Two of the suspected burglars accused of taking the gems disguised themselves as workers with yellow vests, while the other two rode scooters.
Following the burglary, the Louvre moved some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France’s most guarded vault in Paris, according to the BBC. The vault lies 85 feet down at the location’s headquarters in the French capital.
