Romanian Artifacts Stolen in Assen: Suspects Visited Museum Before

Two of the suspects in the theft of Romanian heritage objects, items of Dacian treasure, from the Drents Museum in Assen visited the museum a month and a half before the robbery. However, they deny that they stole the art treasures from the Drents Museum, writes RTVDrenthe.

Dennis Vlielander, the lawyer for one of the suspects, reports this for De Telegraaf . This is the first time that a lawyer for the suspects has spoken about the art theft at the end of January.

Four Romanian gold treasures were stolen from the Drents Museum on the night of January 24 to 25. The pieces were part of the exhibition “Dacia – Empire of Silver and Gold”. They are the Golden Helmet from Coțofenești and three gold bracelets.

Two men and a woman from Heerhugowaard were arrested a few days after the robbery. Even later, the police arrested a fourth suspect, also from Heerhugowaard. The woman (40 years old) was released last week, but remains a suspect in the case. The three men (26, 34 and 36 years old) are still in custody and are due to appear in court on May 9 for their first public hearing.

Lawyers for two of the suspects told De Telegraaf that they were arrested because of clothes found in a trash can in Assen. The DNA on the clothes matched the suspects’ DNA in the national database, where they are registered because of a previous conviction.

“According to the police, the glass shards match the glass in the museum. I see things a little differently. There is a strong resemblance, but that does not mean a 100% match,” says lawyer Dennis Vlielander. Police are still searching for a fifth person who was filmed on video cameras at a hardware store in Assen. He is still missing.