Louvre heist: Hunt on for remaining thieves after suspects arrested by French police

PARIS — The hunt was on Monday for the thieves still on the run after French police arrested the first suspects in the Louvre heist

PARIS — The hunt was on Monday for the thieves still on the run after French police arrested the first suspects in the Louvre heist.

Two suspects with histories of jewel thefts had been tracked for days after their DNA was recovered from the museum and were arrested Saturday shortly before one of them was set to board a flight out of the country, a police official told NBC News.

The breakthrough came a week after robbers broke into the Galerie d’Apollon, threatening guards and drilling into display cases before escaping on scooters with eight of France’s crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million.

A major police operation has been underway to track down the thieves, who were captured fleeing on camera. But there was still no sign of the jewels themselves.

Police make arrests in Louvre heist: What we know02:29Police said DNA samples discovered at the crime scene helped identify the suspects.