The Dutch Police has arrested on Wednesday three suspects of the theft of four archaeological masterpieces from Romania, in the town of Heerhugowaard, northwest of the country. The pieces – the so -called Cotofensti and three bracelets – have not been recovered at the moment. The arrests, on the other hand, have produced “thanks to the investigation of the detectives, the recordings of the cameras and the numerous clues of the public,” said the police. The four subjects are incommunicado in preventive detention and can only talk to their lawyers.
As soon as the news is known, the direction of the Drets Museum, from Assen, has hung a statement on its website saying that they are very happy “with the hopeful news.” They add “a great respect for researchers who have taken this terrible case so properly and we waited impatiently new events.”
The booty has not yet appeared and the museum admits that recovering intact art objects “would be fantastic for all those involved, not only for us, but especially for the Romanian people.” The police do not rule out making more arrests and continues to look for a suspicious man, to appear in the images captured in a DIY store in Assen. He was there a few days before theft. That photo has been published and shared by the agents.
The theft has caused stupor and embarrassment in equal parts in the Netherlands, and has revived the debate on the safety of museums and the type of showcases that must be installed. The thieves used explosives to fly the door through which they penetrated the room, and the director of the Drets Museum has declared that they had taken “additional security measures for stolen works.” In his opinion “they had fulfilled” their obligations.