These days, heists are few and far between. Gone are the days when you could step onto an airplane and jump out of the tail section with a parachute and $200,000 in cash. However, the recent theft of a priceless golden artifact from a Dutch museum seems to signal that heists could be coming back in style.
The Drents Museum, which is located in the Netherlands, recently announced the theft of four valuable pieces from its archive. On the morning of January 25th, police responded to the museum at around 3:45 a.m., where they found significant damage to the building and evidence that explosives had been used. Cops ultimately determined that the thieves had somehow blown out the museum’s door, then ransacked the place, taking with them a number of valuable pieces, including a 2,500-year-old golden helmet known as the Helmet of Coțofenești. In addition to the helmet, three golden bracelets were also stolen.
“This is a black day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest,” said the Drents Museum’s general director Harry Tupan, in a press release. “We are intensely shocked by the events last night at the museum. In its 170-year existence, there has never been such a major incident.”
Police have released CCTV video of the outside of the building, where—in a scene reminiscent of Heat—three blurry suspects can be seen loitering around the museum’s door before it bursts into flames.
According to a press release put out by the museum, the police currently have several suspects, though they noted that nobody has been arrested yet. Interpol, the European police agency, is also assisting with the investigation.
The mayor of the municipality of Assen, where the robbery took place, said that he was “shocked” by the incident.
It is unclear how valuable the four stolen pieces are, though a Dutch art expert told the New York Post that due to the piece’s reputation, it is now basically “unsellable” and that the thieves likely intend to melt the piece down to sell its components.
While heists are relatively rare these days, there have been several recent incidents that sparked public curiosity. Last Easter, somebody broke into a private security contractor’s warehouse in Los Angeles and stole $30 million in cash. The culprits have never been found.
