'Biggest incident in 170 years': Thieves blow up Dutch museum door to steal gold 'masterpieces'
World: The robbers used explosives to force open the door of the Dutch museum. Police received the report at 3:45 am local time on Saturday about the explosion.
In a shocking heist, four ancient gold artefacts were stolen from a Dutch museum early Saturday morning, museum officials said in a statement.
The robbers used explosives to force open the door of the Dutch museum. Police received the report at 3:45 am local time on Saturday about the explosion at the Drents Museum in Assen.
As the officers arrived, they found the museum damaged and the gold masterpieces were missing.
The museum was hosting an exhibition of priceless Romanian jewellery made from gold and silver.
The thieves left with three Dacian spiral bracelets and the exhibit's central piece, which was a decorated Helmet of Cotofenesti, crafted almost 2,500 years ago.
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Romania's ministry of culture has vowed to take all possible steps to recover the stolen artefacts, which were loaned to the Dutch museum from Bucharest.
'Intensely shocked'
Drents Museum director Harry Tupan said staff were "intensely shocked" by the robbery, stressing that it was the biggest incident in its 170-year history.
"This is a dark day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest," Tupan said.
As the investigation continues, police are carrying out a forensic investigation and reviewing CCTV footage.
They are also investigating a burning vehicle that was found on a nearby road, which they suspect may be linked to the burglary.
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"A possible scenario is that the suspects switched to another vehicle in the vicinity of the fire," a Dutch police statement said.
There have been no arrests made yet. However, the authorities suspect multiple individuals were involved in the burglary.
Moreover, to resolve the case, police have called the global policing agency Interpol to help with the investigation.
The museum issued a statement, saying four archaeological masterpieces" were taken, including the Cotofenesti helmet, which dates from around 450 BC, and three ancient Dacian royal bracelets.
Notably, in the late 1990s, 24 bracelets from the same era were dug up by treasure hunters and sold abroad. Later, the Romanian state made efforts for years to get them back from collectors in Austria, Germany, France, the UK and the United States.
(With inputs from agencies)
