Art Heist: Burglars Use Explosives in Daring Museum Robbery 

In a dramatic art heist, burglars used explosives to rob a museum, making off with valuable artifacts. Authorities are investigating the high-stakes theft.

Thieves have forcefully entered a museum in the Dutch city of Assen and stolen a collection of ancient Romanian gold and silver artifacts. This theft is the latest incident in a string of art heists occurring across the Netherlands.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, police were alerted to an explosion at the Drenths Museum. Upon arrival, officers found that “several archaeological masterpieces” had been stolen. On Monday, authorities issued a statement indicating their belief that multiple suspects are implicated and confirmed Interpol’s involvement in the ongoing investigation.

The thieves absconded with the golden helmet of Cotofenesti, a 2,400-year-old artwork regarded as a national treasure in Romania, along with three golden bracelets from approximately 50 BC.

The artifacts were featured in the “Dacia: Rich in Gold and Silver” exhibition, which was approaching its final weekend. The helmet, bracelets, and numerous other gold and silver pieces had been lent to the Drenths Museum by over a dozen museums from Romania.

The Dacians were an ancient Indo-European group that lived in what is now modern-day Romania from the Bronze Age until their conquest by the Romans in the second century AD. Positioned at a significant trade crossroads, their artistry was shaped by influences from Greeks, Celts, Thracians, Scythians, and Persians.

“This is a dark day for both the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest,” stated Harry Tupan, director of the Drents Museum. “In our museum’s 170-year history, an incident of this magnitude has never taken place. We also feel profound sorrow for our colleagues in Romania.”

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced that he is forming a “crisis team at the government level” to aid in locating the stolen treasures. He stated that Romanian law enforcement would collaborate with Dutch police to recover the missing items, and Romanian experts will be sent to the Netherlands to expedite the return of the remaining pieces from the collection.

The heist occurred two months following an incident in which thieves forcefully entered a gallery in Oisterwijk, making off with four Andy Warhol prints. Comparable thefts had previously happened at an art fair in Maastricht in 2022 and at a museum in Laren during 2020, the latter resulting in the theft of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Parsonage Garden.” Fortunately, three years later, the Van Gogh painting was recovered and is now exhibited in Groningen.