Burglars employ explosives in art heist to loot museum
Thieves have taken a golden helmet, deemed a national treasure of Romania, from a museum in the Netherlands. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Police are actively investigating a gang of criminals responsible for stealing Romania's national treasure from a museum in the Netherlands.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, thieves detonated an explosion at the Drenths Museum in Assen, making off with a collection of ancient Romanian gold and silver artifacts. This incident is the latest in a troubling trend of art heists impacting the Netherlands.
Officials were alerted to the explosion and, upon arrival, found that “several archaeological masterpieces” were missing. On Monday, police announced they suspect multiple perpetrators are involved and have sought assistance from Interpol in the investigation.
Among the stolen items is the golden helmet of Cotofenesti, a remarkable 2,400-year-old artifact that holds national significance for Romania, along with three golden bracelets dating back to around 50 BC.
These treasures were part of the ‘Dacia: Rich in gold and silver’ exhibition, which was concluding its final weekend. The helmet, bracelets, and many other gold and silver pieces were on loan to the Drenths Museum from numerous Romanian museums.
The Dacians, an ancient Indo-European group, resided in a large area of what is now Romania from the Bronze Age until they were conquered by the Romans in the second century AD. Their artistic expressions were shaped by various cultures owing to their position on an essential trade route, drawing influences from the Greeks, Celts, Thracians, Scythians, and Persians.
“This is a black day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest,” remarked Harry Tupan, the director of the Drents Museum. “In [the museum’s] 170-year existence, such a major incident has never occurred. It also causes us great sadness towards our colleagues in Romania.”
In response, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Facebook that he is forming a “crisis team at the government level” to assist in recovering the stolen treasures. He indicated that Romanian law enforcement would collaborate with Dutch authorities to locate the items, and experts from Romania would be sent to the Netherlands to ensure the swift return of the remaining collection.
This heist follows a previous incident in which thieves broke into an Oisterwijk gallery two months ago and stole four Andy Warhol prints. Similar robberies occurred at an art fair in Maastricht in 2022 and a museum in Laren in 2020, where Vincent van Gogh's ‘The Parsonage Garden’ was taken. The Van Gogh painting was retrieved three years later and is now on display in Groningen.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
In the early hours of Saturday morning, thieves detonated an explosion at the Drenths Museum in Assen, making off with a collection of ancient Romanian gold and silver artifacts. This incident is the latest in a troubling trend of art heists impacting the Netherlands.
Officials were alerted to the explosion and, upon arrival, found that “several archaeological masterpieces” were missing. On Monday, police announced they suspect multiple perpetrators are involved and have sought assistance from Interpol in the investigation.
Among the stolen items is the golden helmet of Cotofenesti, a remarkable 2,400-year-old artifact that holds national significance for Romania, along with three golden bracelets dating back to around 50 BC.
These treasures were part of the ‘Dacia: Rich in gold and silver’ exhibition, which was concluding its final weekend. The helmet, bracelets, and many other gold and silver pieces were on loan to the Drenths Museum from numerous Romanian museums.
The Dacians, an ancient Indo-European group, resided in a large area of what is now Romania from the Bronze Age until they were conquered by the Romans in the second century AD. Their artistic expressions were shaped by various cultures owing to their position on an essential trade route, drawing influences from the Greeks, Celts, Thracians, Scythians, and Persians.
“This is a black day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest,” remarked Harry Tupan, the director of the Drents Museum. “In [the museum’s] 170-year existence, such a major incident has never occurred. It also causes us great sadness towards our colleagues in Romania.”
In response, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Facebook that he is forming a “crisis team at the government level” to assist in recovering the stolen treasures. He indicated that Romanian law enforcement would collaborate with Dutch authorities to locate the items, and experts from Romania would be sent to the Netherlands to ensure the swift return of the remaining collection.
This heist follows a previous incident in which thieves broke into an Oisterwijk gallery two months ago and stole four Andy Warhol prints. Similar robberies occurred at an art fair in Maastricht in 2022 and a museum in Laren in 2020, where Vincent van Gogh's ‘The Parsonage Garden’ was taken. The Van Gogh painting was retrieved three years later and is now on display in Groningen.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
