Assen ( Brussels Morning Newspaper ) – Thieves at the Drents Museum in Assen used explosive methods to break in and steal entire gold artefact collections. The stolen items were part of a temporary exhibition titled “Dacia—Empire of Gold and Silver,” which featured over 650 treasures from Romania, including a notable gold helmet from the 5th century BC.
Theft at the Drents Museum in Assen involved gold artefacts, with reports indicating explosives were used to enter the premises. The stolen items were part of a temporary exhibition titled “Dacia – Empire of Gold and Silver,” which featured over 650 treasures from Romania, including a notable gold helmet from the 5th century BC. Authorities in the Netherlands started an extensive probe to investigate the robbery at the museum as the incident exposed worries about museum security due to an increasing number of explosive attacks in Dutch institutions.
The robbery at the Drents Museum took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, around 3:45 AM, when a heavy explosive triggered destructive explosions which battered the museum windows on top of nearby structures.
Residents misidentified the loud boomy sound as fireworks because it echoes across the area. At the museum, a temporary exhibition showcased more than 650 Romanian gold and silver artefacts dating from the 20th century BC through the 3rd century AD. Several gold bracelets and a notable 5th-century BC gold helmet were among the recovered stolen museum artefacts.
The Netherlands is the country with the most attacks and explosives worldwide, and no one seems to know how to stop this,
says Brand.
and the thieves are now noticing that it works. The sky is the limit, the floodgates have opened. That is very worrying on all fronts. The police and the government must find an answer to this very quickly.
What are the implications of rising art theft in Assen?
The Dutch police have established a specialised unit that aims to study surveillance tapes and identify the robbers’ escape path. The incident resulted in discussions about museum defence functionality because art historian Arthur Brand stated museums lack adequate protection against bold theft attempts. This incident belongs to an increasing issue of explosive burglaries related to drug scenes and criminal enterprises throughout the Netherlands.
The authorities are examining a car blaze near Rolde to uncover additional evidence about the suspects responsible for stealing from the museum. Police work with Interpol as they track potential suspects through ongoing investigations after a well-known theft.
The police investigation focuses on a car fire that took place at Grolloerstraat and Marwijksoord near Rolde on the N33 route in Drenthe just after the museum robbery. The car stood unattended when police examined it since the people inside may have exchanged vehicles.
