Three people have been arrested in connection with a brazen heist at a museum in the Netherlands over the weekend in which thieves stole ancient artifacts, including a prized golden helmet on loan from Romania, the authorities said on Wednesday.
The three people were arrested in Heerhugowaard, a city about 30 miles north of Amsterdam and more than 100 miles west of the Drents Museum in Assen, where the theft took place. The police identified two of them as Douglas Chesley Wendersteyt and Bernhard Zeeman, both from Heerhugowaard. The police identified the third person who was arrested as a woman, also from the same city, but did not release her name.
The police said that they had searched homes in Heerhugowaard, but that the stolen pieces had not been found. The authorities said they were also looking for a fourth person in connection with the theft. They released three surveillance images of a man wearing glasses and a dark shirt and ball cap that they said were taken at a hardware store in Assen.
“This is an absolute priority of the police and the public prosecutor,” the police said in a statement.
Early Saturday morning, thieves blew up a heavy access door to get into the Drents Museum. Grainy footage from a surveillance camera showed three hooded figures tugging at the door before an explosion and a flurry of sparks. The authorities said it was part of an elaborate effort to break into the art and history museum and steal some of its treasures.
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