Paris: French authorities have detained two men suspected of being part of the four-man crew who stole precious jewellery from the world-famous Louvre museum last week, two sources close to the case said Sunday, confirming media reports.

One of the suspects was apprehended around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a plane abroad, French media Le Parisien and Paris Match reported.

The second was arrested not long after in the Paris region, according to Le Parisien.

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Dozens of investigators had been tasked with tracking down the thieves who successfully robbed the Louvre in broad daylight on October 19, making off with royal jewels worth an estimated $102 million in just seven minutes.

The robbers had clambered up the extendable ladder of a stolen movers' truck and, using cutting equipment, broke into a first-floor gallery.

They dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown as they fled down the ladder and onto scooters, but managed to steal eight other pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon Bonaparte gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

The brazen theft has made headlines across the world and sparked a debate in France about the security of cultural institutions.

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