Police release new photos of suspect in Romanian gold artifacts theft at Drents Museum
Police investigating the daring burglary at the Drents Museum in Assen have released a series of photographs featuring a man wanted in connection with the robbery. The images were caught by a security camera at a hardware store in Assen, police said on Wednesday afternoon.
The robbers involved in the incident early Saturday morning made off with the gold helmet of Cotofenesti and three gold armbands on loan for the Dacia exhibit at the museum. The stolen items date back to about 450 BC, and were among the 670 objects on display in Assen which are part of the permanent collection at the Romanian National History Museum in Bucharest. The Dacia exhibit was set to close on Sunday.
The new photos from the police show a man with a lighter skin complexion is shown wearing a black Nike baseball hat and a black Nike top with long-sleeves. He was also wearing rectangular eyeglasses with a black frame at the front, which also have arms in a lighter clear or light color before which become darker at the ears.
Police on Tuesday night had appealed to the public for help in identifying the suspects, or perhaps the tools used in the robbery, during a broadcast of Opsporing Verzocht. Those tools included a dead blow hammer and a sledgehammer. Additionally, the authorities said they believe the suspects have connections to the Noord-Holland province.
While the robbery happened at 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, the images from inside the hardware store were taken at 1:14 p.m a few days earlier on Thursday. Police asked that the man contact authorities, or that anyone with information about him reach out to investigators.
At least three people were believed to be involved in the robbery, based on surveillance footage captured during the incident. “That night, a door of the building was forced open with explosives and several suspects entered the museum. In a short period, they managed to steal a number of Romanian archaeological masterpieces,” police said.
“The museum building was damaged in the explosion. There is footage showing the suspects opening an outside door and the explosion that followed. The suspects entered the museum in this way.”
Police believe a gray Volkswagen Golf stolen in Alkmaar was used in the robbery. It had license plate P-343-RL, but it was switched with a license plate taken off another vehicle in Witmarsum. That plate was K-813-BK.
The vehicle was likely stolen from around Ingelandstraat in Alkmaar after 8:30 p.m. on January 22. The license plates were stolen from Van Aylvaweg in Witmarsum after 6 p.m. on January 22. The car was spotted near Julianaplein in Groningen on January 23 between 3:45 a.m. and 5 a.m. It was at the scene of the robbery, and was then found burned out near the N33 in Rolde after the burglary.
Police are trying to piece together information about the car during that window. “The investigation team is also asking for attention to a dark-colored Ford Transit, which may have been involved in the robbery,” police said.
“A team of dozens of detectives and specialists are working on the case with the aim of tracking down the stolen goods and arresting the suspects. Extensive technical and tactical investigations were conducted in and around the Drents Museum,” police stated. “The investigation team also decided to bring in Interpol. This is an international organisation that helps police organisations prevent and combat crime.”
