“At least some” of the art treasures that were stolen from the Drents Museum in January last year have been recovered, reports It Dagblad van het Noorden Thursday. The newspaper has received confirmation of the news from “sources from the Netherlands and Romania”. Among the treasures recovered are said to be the golden helmet of Coțofenești. It is not yet clear whether the objects are damaged.
It is also not yet known where the art treasures were found. The Public Prosecution Service announced on Thursday morning that there are “new developments” in the investigation, and a press conference will follow at 2 p.m. Press agency ANP writes, based on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the Romanians have been informed of “the discovery of objects” that disappeared from the Drents Museum.
The art theft happened last year on the night of January 24 to 25. Burglars blew up the entrance door of the Assen museum with a fireworks bomb and broke two glass display cases: in addition to the Coțofenești helmet, they also took three gold bracelets.
The pieces were part of the exhibition Dacia – Empire of silver and gold about the Dacians, a people who lived in ancient Romania in what is now Romania. For the exhibition, the Drents Museum borrowed pieces from fifteen different Romanian museums.
Douglas W. (37), Bernhard Z. (35) and Jan B. (21) from Heerhugowaard are suspected of the art theft and are in pre-trial detention. The substantive case will be heard at the Northern Netherlands District Court on April 14, 16 and 17.
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