The saga surrounding an international antiquities smuggling ring continues: Two top Louvre Abu Dhabi collection advisors were taken into custody by French authorities on Monday, July 24 for their potential role in the museum’s acquisition of trafficked Egyptian artifacts, as first reported by the French newspaper Libération. They are being investigated by France’s Central Office for the Fight Against Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC).

Jean-François Charnier and Noëmi Daucé will be held for questioning for up to 96 hours. This comes after the Louvre’s former president Jean-Luc Martinez was charged in May with concealing the origins of illegally smuggled Egyptian antiquities that were purchased by the museum’s new Abu Dhabi branch. Daucé currently works as a curator at the Louvre in Paris.

The museum declined to issue a statement to Hyperallergic, saying it could not comment on ongoing investigations.

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