All three museum gold heist suspects jailed for 47 months

The three main suspects in the Drents Museum heist have all been jailed for three years and 11 months for their roles in stealing Romanian gold treasures, even though two of the men had struck a plea deal.

Douglas W and Jan B had agreed to return the golden helmet of Cotofenesti and two of the three gold armbands in early April in exchange for reduced sentences, but were given the same jail term as Bernhard Z who had refused.

The public prosecution department had said during the trial that Z should be jailed for five years and six months, the other two defendants for three years and eight months.

The court in Assen said it was not possible to determine who had what role in returning the stolen gold and was therefore giving all three the same sentence. B and W received longer sentences than the public prosecution office had demanded because one armband is still missing.

The gang broke into the museum on January 25 last year, blowing up the entrance with explosives and making off with the four items which were on loan from Romania.

During the earlier hearing Drents Museum director Robert van Langh read a statement from colleagues at Romania’s national history museum in Bucharest, who described the “shock, anger and humiliation” felt there after the theft. He called on the suspects to return the final armband. “Only then can this terrible period really be closed.”