Thieves use explosives to steal gold ‘masterpieces’ from Dutch museum

Four ancient gold artifacts were stolen from a Dutch museum in the early hours of the night.

Thieves used explosives in the Museum Museum in Assen, where they organized a priceless exhibition of Romanian jewels.

They left with three Dacian spiral bracelets and the exhibition’s central piece – the ornate Cotofenesti helmet that was crafted nearly 2,500 years ago.

The Romanian Ministry of Culture has promised to take all steps to recover the stolen items, which were loaned to the Dutch museum in Bucharest from Bucharest.

Drents Museum Director Harry Tupan said staff were “deeply shocked” by the theft, which he described as the biggest in its 170-year history.

Police were called to the scene at 03:45 local time (04:45 GMT) after reports of an explosion (04:45 GMT) on Saturday.

Officers carried out a forensic investigation and reviewed CCTV footage throughout the day.

Police are also investigating a burning vehicle found on a nearby road, which they suspect may be linked to the robbery.

“It is a possible scenario that the suspects moved to another vehicle in the vicinity of the fire,” said a Dutch police statement.

No arrests have been made, but authorities suspect multiple individuals were involved. Police have called in the global police agency Interpol to help with the investigation.

The museum’s statement said four “archaeological masterpieces”, including the Cotofenesti helmet, dating back to B.C. It dates back to around 450 and is an ancient Dacian royal bracelet.

All four stolen items have great cultural significance for Romanians, who considered the Cotofenesti helmet a national treasure.

In the late 1990s, 24 bracelets from the same era were dug up by treasure hunters and sold abroad.

The Romanian state worked for years to get it back from collectors in Austria, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.