Three arrested after ancient Romanian artefacts stolen from Dutch museum
Three arrested after ancient Romanian artefacts stolen from Dutch museum
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2,500-year-old Helmet of Cotofenesti among objects taken after thieves used explosives to enter building. Dutch police have arrested three men in connection with the robbery of ancient Romanian artefacts from a museum in the north-east of the Netherlands, after an intensive four-day hunt.
The break-in on Saturday, during which the men used explosives to get into the Drents Museum in Assen, has angered Romania and prompted Dutch police to scramble to track down the culprits. The treasures were on loan from the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest and the incident has cost its director his job.
“The suspects are held under strict conditions and are being questioned about their role in the heist,” Dutch police said, adding “further arrests are not being excluded.”. The Drents Museum said the stolen artefacts have not yet been recovered.
The thieves made off with four important Romanian artefacts, including the approximately 2,500-year-old golden Helmet of Cotofenesti, a piece from the Dacian civilisation. Three gold bracelets dating from about 50BC were also taken. Bucharest’s foreign affairs minister, Emil Hurezeanu, said the pieces were of “special cultural and symbolic importance” and their disappearance created great anguish in Romania.
Dutch police launched a large-scale inquiry into the heist and earlier on Wednesday released a photograph of another suspect wanted in connection with the case. The Drents Museum welcomed the arrests, which were made in the small city of Heerhugowaard, about 30 miles (50km) north of Amsterdam.
