Dutch police confirm arrest of three people in Romanian artefact theft case

  Three people have been detained by Dutch police in the town of Heerhugowaard in connection with the theft of the Dacian helmet, and another is being sought, official sources told G4Media. The information was also confirmed by Dutch media. The three suspects were arrested in the north of the country. They are Dutch citizens. Dutch police did not provide information about the items stolen from the Drents Museum – the golden helmet and several bracelets. However, the museum representatives told the cited publication that they were not found.   The suspects were arrested based on CCTV footage and a lot of information from the public, police said. “Three people have been detained by the Dutch police, suspected of committing this theft with a particularly serious impact on Romanians. None of the three are Romanian,” State Secretary Bogdan Despescu from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also confirmed in a press conference, stressing that the Romanian Police were in permanent contact with the Dutch Police, with all international cooperation mechanisms being activated.   The suspects were arrested “based on the investigation of detectives, camera recordings and numerous tips from the public,” the Dutch police said. They are in full custody and, therefore, are only allowed to speak to their lawyers, writes the Dutch publication NOS.   “We are very pleased with the hopeful news regarding the arrests in North Holland. We have great respect for the law enforcement agencies that are dealing with this terrible case so effectively and we look forward to further developments. The safe return of the stolen artifacts would be a fantastic next step for all parties involved. Not just for us, but especially for the Romanian people,” is the message of the Assen Museum.   Dutch authorities previously considered a hypothesis in which the thieves were four in number, not just the three that appear in the footage, and that among them it is possible that Romanians were involved.   The robbery at the Drents Museum in the city of Assen (northwestern Netherlands) took place on the morning of January 25, after an explosion was reported at 03:45. CCTV footage shows three suspects planting explosives, waiting for the wall to collapse, entering the museum, and then fleeing. The entire action took place in about three minutes, Dutch police say.   Of the more than 600 objects on display under the title “Dacia – the kingdom of gold and silver”, the thieves stole the 2,500-year-old golden helmet from Cotofene?ti and three Dacian gold bracelets, about 2,000 years old.   A team of about 35 detectives and specialists have been working on the robbery since Saturday morning. On Sunday, police announced that the robbers used a Volkswagen Golf that had been stolen in Alkmaar. On Monday, two hammers were found nearby that, according to police, were used in the robbery.