Heist of the Century: Thieves Blew Up Museum Doors in the Netherlands, Stealing Dacian Royal Gold from Romania

In the Netherlands, a group of criminals robbed the Drenthe Museum in Assen. The criminals blew up the front door to the building and stole 4 ancient artifacts, CNN reports.

Among the stolen items was a golden helmet, which is 2.5 thousand years old.

According to the police, the explosion was reported on January 25 at about 4 a.m. local time.

Police released video from surveillance cameras. They show the thieves opening the doors of the museum, and then an explosion is heard.

The robbers escaped with three gold bracelets dating back to about 50 B.C. and also took a Cotofenesti helmet (the name comes from the name of a village in Romania - ed.) from the fifth century B.C. It depicts mythological scenes and a pair of eyes located above the wearer's head, which were believed to scare away enemies during battle and protect against the “evil eye.”

The exhibits were part of an exhibition about the Dacians (an ancient people who lived in part of the territory of modern Romania). It featured items from Romanian institutions.

The exhibition was supposed to end on January 27, but the Drenthe Museum was closed due to the robbery. Its employees reported that the building was damaged by the explosion, but no one was injured.

The Dutch police announced that they were cooperating with Interpol and had received more than 50 tips as of Sunday. Investigators are currently looking for information about a gray car that was stolen from the neighboring town of Alkmaar earlier in the week. Shortly after the theft, it was found burning about 6 kilometers from the crime scene.

Police speculate that the suspects may have switched to another car after abandoning the stolen one.

In a statement to the press, Harry Tupan, director general of the Drenthe Museum, called the incident a “black day” for his institution and for the National History Museum of Romania.

“We are deeply shocked by the events of last night. In the 170 years of the museum's existence, there has never been such a serious incident. It also causes us great sadness for our Romanian colleagues,” the head of the museum said.

As The Gaze previously reported, attackers blew up a gallery in the Netherlands to steal two paintings by Andy Warhol.