One Romanian gold theft suspect jailed, another offered a deal; Prosecutors release one
A 20-year-old man suspected in the theft of gold Romanian artifacts from the Drents Museum in Assen will remain in custody for at least another 90 days, the District Court of Noord-Nederland said on Wednesday. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) also decided to release one of the other suspects in the case who was still in custody, while another claimed three unknown individuals tried to offer him a deal in exchange for the loot.
Four treasures from the Dacian civilization were stolen from the museum on January 25, including a 2,500-year-old golden helmet and three golden bracelets dating back about 2,075 years. The pieces, valued at 5.8 million euros, are still missing. Prosecutors are expected to give an update into the investigation on Friday.
The 20-year-old man from Heerhugowaard arrested on April 23 is believed to be the man seen in security camera footage released by police shortly after the robbery. The images show a man buying a hammer at a Praxis in Assen on April 21. A hammer from the hardware store was found in the water on the museum grounds, which investigators think was used during the burglary.
Suspect claims he was offered a deal for the gold
He was the seventh person taken into custody as part of the investigation. Three of them were still in jail cells on Wednesday, including Douglas Chesley W. The 36-year-old's attorney told the Telegraaf on Wednesday that three men tried to offer his client a deal in his jail cell last week. They allegedly proposed reducing his punishment by half on condition he disclosed the location of the Dacian gold items.
The attorney, Dennis Vlielander, said W. refused the deal. "I explained to my client that the only one who decides on the punishment is the judge. In short: they cannot offer him a deal." The identities of the three men remain unknown.
An update on the case will likely be given by the OM during court proceedings on Friday morning when two other suspects will appear before district court judges. W. and another suspect, Bernhard Z. (35), were arrested on January 29, and remanded into pre-trial detention a few days later.
The following day, the police took the unusual step of distributing their full names and unredacted photographs. Authorities hoped this would increase pressure on the suspects, help investigators capture the man from the hardware store, and either recover the gold artifacts or prevent them from being melted down.
OM: One more suspect released from custody
Prosecutors decided to release a 26-year-old Heerhugowaard man from pre-trial detention. The man was the fourth person detained in the investigation, and he was due to appear in court alongside W. and Z. on Friday for the status hearing.
"He was not involved in the execution of the art theft in the museum, but in the eyes of the Public Prosecution Service he played a supporting role," the OM said. He has been in custody since his arrest on February 20, and remains a suspect in the burglary of the helmet and the bracelets.
The unique artifacts were part of a collection of 673 objects which were on loan from Romania for the Dacia exhibit at the Drents Museum.
