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Police issue photo of Assen gold heist suspect at DIY store

January 29, 2025
One of the suspects in a DIY store. Photo: Politie

The police have issued several photographs of a man they want to interview in connection with last weekend’s gold heist in Assen.

The man, wearing glasses and a baseball cap, was seen in a DIY store in Assen on the previous Thursday, police said on Wednesday afternoon. Several tools and a hammer were found at the scene of the robbery, which police think may have been used to break into the building.

The police have also said several of those involved are likely to have come from Noord-Holland province.

So far, 120 tips have come in since Tuesday night’s tv crime show appeal, during which the police appealed for information about about discarded tools and items of clothing, and a hammer which was found in a nearby pond.

The heist occurred at around 3.25 am on Saturday morning after an explosion shattered windows and caused damage to the museum buildings. The thieves made off with the golden helmet of Cotofenesti, crafted from almost pure gold and dating from 500 BC, along with three gold arm bands.

The Romanian authorities have since criticised the Drents Museum for not having enough security measures in place. Camera footage of the heist shows three men breaking down the door following the explosion.

The director of the National History Museum in Bucharest, which lent the items to the Drents Museum, has also been fired amid an investigation into the export licence for the artifacts.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said no such licence had been issued for the the transport of the objects to the Netherlands.

He also said Romania would “claim unprecedented damages” for the loss of the helmet. The Dutch culture ministry has not received a claim yet, a spokesman told the AD.

“We are in contact with the Romanian authorities and working closely together,” he said.

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