Laure Beccuau said ‘upper echelons of organised crime’ unlikely to be involved as one perpetrator remains at large

The brazen daytime heist at the Louvre was carried out by petty criminals rather than professionals from the world of organised crime, the Paris prosecutor has said, describing two of the suspects as a couple with children.

The assertion comes two weeks after thieves parked a stolen truck outside the world’s most-visited museum, used a furniture lift to reach the first floor, then smashed their way into one of the museum’s most ornate rooms. Less than seven minutes later, they escaped on scooters with crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m).

Woman, 38, and man, 37, had been arrested on Wednesday in relation to theft of £76m worth of jewellery in Paris

Two more suspects, a man and a woman arrested this week over the jewel heist at the Louvre, have been charged and remanded in custody, prosecutors have said.

The charges on Saturday brought to four the number of people now charged over the spectacular robbery.

Public prosecutor says arrests were made in and around Paris but suspects ‘did not help us find the stolen goods’

Five new suspects have been arrested in connection with the Louvre robbery in Paris, in which thieves stole crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m), the city’s public prosecutor has said, but the gems remain missing.

Laure Beccuau told RTL radio on Thursday the arrests had been made on Wednesday night in the French capital and the surrounding area, particularly the neighbouring Seine-Saint-Denis department. But they “did not help us find the stolen goods”, she added.