Banned motorcycle gang recruited thieves who stole Romanian treasures in Assen: report
The banned motorcycle gang Hardliners recruited the thieves who stole Romanian treasures from the Drents Museum in Assen in January, sources in the criminal world and around the police investigation told RTL Nieuws. According to the broadcaster, a Romanian criminal is responsible for the theft and intends to use the golden artirfacts as a bargaining chip to avoid prison.
The robbers used a fireworks bomb and sledgehammers to break into the Drents Museum in Assen during the early hours of January 25. They reportedly smashed two display cases and made off with the helmet of Cotofenesti and three golden bracelets. The valuable art pieces, dating back over 2,500 years, are still missing.
The police believe that the artifacts are still intact and have not been melted down. This supports that belief. “The indications are piling up that the helmet has not been melted down,” a source close to the police investigation told RTL. “It is probably somewhere near Heerhugowaard, rolled up in a towel.”
In the months since the theft, the police arrested seven suspects, almost all of them from Heerhugowaard. The three main suspects are Douglas W. (36), Bernhard Z. (35), and Jan B. (20). The last suspect was only arrested in April after an undercover operation failed to convince him to reveal the whereabouts of the stolen treasures.
According to RTL’s sources, the banned motorcycle gang Hardliners helped to recruit these men. “They were promised 15,000 euros per person,” a source from the criminal underworld said. One of the suspects is allegedly an aspiring member of the Hardliners.
The broadcaster’s sources also said that the Dacian treasures were stolen on the orders of a major Romanian criminal, who wants to use the stolen artifacts as a bargaining chip to avoid prison. The sources did not say who this criminal was.
A source from the police said that investigators are increasingly looking at a Romanian client as being behind this art theft. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) refused to comment.
According to a source, the OM is deliberately being hesitant with information. “This is such a sensitive case. If the Netherlands speaks of a Romanian client, a diplomatic row will immediately break out.”
It is not unheard of that criminals use art treasures in exchange for reduced sentences. For example, two Van Gogh paintings stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2003 turned up in a hidden room belonging to the Italian drug criminal Raffaele Imperiale in 2022. It also recently turned out that a Frans Hals stolen five years ago likely ended up in the hands of the Belgian top criminal Flor B.
