CCTV shows moment Louvre heist thieves smash into display cases and snatch £76m of jewellery

CCTV footage has shown the moment the Louvre heist thieves smashed into display cases and ransacked £76million of jewellery.

The minute-long security camera clip, shared on French TV news show Sept à Huit, captured two burglars each breaking into the glass cases before brazenly seizing their loot, the Daily Mail reports.

One of the masked thieves could be seen using his forearm to punch through cracked glass before reaching inside and grabbing three precious ornaments.

He then stuffs the goods into an inside pocket under his hi-vis jacket before picking up his bag, which sits in a scattering of broken glass, and quickly walks away.

Both thieves can then be seen working together to smash their way into a second, larger case, stealing pieces of valuable jewellery before dashing from the scene.

The entire operation, which saw £76million worth of jewellery stolen, lasted only four minutes, from 9:35am to 9:39am, on October 19 at the Louvre's Apollo Gallery.

Within a week, two men in their 30s from Seine-Saint-Denis were arrested in connection with the raid on October 25, one of them at Charles de Gaulle Airport while trying to board a plane to Algeria.

Both were already known to police from past burglary cases. Investigators said they matched trace DNA evidence recovered from a helmet left at the scene of the crime to one of the suspects.

After four days, the prosecutor's office revealed that the two arrested had partially admitted to their involvement, and that they were charged with organised gang theft and criminal conspiracy.

Five more suspects were arrested on October 29, only one of whom was thought to be part of the four-man team.

Two were charged before a magistrate on October 31 - a 37-year-old-man, with theft and criminal conspiracy, and a 38-year-old-woman, with organised theft and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime.

Both denied any involvement, and three were released.

The prosecutor's office reported on November 25 that four more suspects from Paris were detained by police.

One was charged before a magistrate on November 27 - a 39-year-old man, with organised gang theft and criminal conspiracy. The man is believed to be the final member of the four-man team.

The other three detained on November 27 were released.

Charges have been filed against five suspects so far; however, the location of the jewels remain unknown, and none of the pieces have been recovered.

'The interrogations have not produced any new investigative elements,' top Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said this week, three months after the broad-daylight heist. 

But the case remains a top priority, she underlined: 'Our main objective is still to recover the jewellery.'