Thieves use explosives to steal artefacts from museum in the Netherlands

The main artefact stolen from the Drents museum was the golden helmet of Cotofenesti, which was on loan from the National History Museum of Romania.

Transcript

00:00Several ancient archaeological masterpieces have been stolen from a major exhibition at the Drenthe Museum in the Netherlands.

00:08According to the police, the museum was hit by a heavy explosion on Saturday morning.

00:13Windows were shattered and surrounding buildings were damaged in the theft.

00:17One of the stolen masterpieces is the golden helmet of Kutufinisti, a loon from the National History Museum of Romania.

00:26No one was present at the fire in the car.

00:29We take into account that this person's car has a link with the explosion and the break-in in the museum.

00:35It is a possible scenario that the suspects in the vicinity of the fire were transferred to another vehicle.

00:42We are intensely shocked by the events of last night in our Drenthe Museum.

00:48In its 170 years of existence, such a major incident has never occurred before.

00:54The number of objects from the exhibition Dacia, rich in gold and silver, is therefore strange to us,

00:59including the top piece, the helmet of Kutifesti from the 5th century BC.

01:06The exhibition featured over 600 gold and silver objects from at least 15 museums across Romania,

01:13with highlights including three golden bracelets and the crown jewel of the collection.

01:19Police in the Netherlands say they have launched investigations into the theft.

01:23The exhibition Dacia, the realm of gold and silver, closed on Sunday.