One Louvre heist suspect released without charge: Lawyer

PARIS: One of five suspects arrested this week over the unprecedented jewel heist at the Louvre has been released without charge, his lawyers told AFP on Saturday (Nov 1).

Last month, thieves wielding power tools raided the Louvre, the world's most visited art museum, in broad daylight, taking just seven minutes to steal jewellery worth an estimated US$102 million.

French authorities initially announced the arrest of two suspects, and this week prosecutors said that police had arrested five more people, including a prime suspect.

One of the five suspects was released without charge on Friday, said his lawyers, Sofia Bougrine and Noemie Gorin.

"In these serious crime cases, we find that waves of arrests look more like drift nets," Bougrine told AFP, pointing to what she said was the indiscriminate nature of some of the arrests.

Early on Saturday, several suspects arrested this week appeared before magistrates at a Paris court. The Paris public prosecutor's office did not specify the number of suspects brought before the court.

The first two men arrested previously were charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after "partially admitting to the charges", Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said this week.

They are suspected of being the two who broke into the gallery while two accomplices waited outside.

The stolen loot remains missing.