2025 Drents Museum heist

On 25 January 2025, thieves broke into the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands, with explosives and stole golden artifacts in a total value of around €6 million. These, which include the Helmet of Coțofenești, with an estimated value of €4.3 million, are irreplaceable archaeological treasures that represent the Dacian civilization, which thrived in present-day Romania before conquest by the Roman Empire in 106 AD. Three gold bracelets from the Dacian royal collection were also stolen. The exhibition, which had never before been displayed internationally at this scale, included items such as ceremonial jewelry and religious objects dating back to the 2nd century BC.
Romania's Ministry of Culture has vowed to do everything possible to retrieve the artifacts, which had been on loan to the Drents Museum from the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest. Harry Tupan [nl], director of the Drents Museum, expressed profound dismay at the theft, describing it as the most significant incident in the museum's 170-year history.
As a result, the Romanian minister of Culture Natalia Intotero fired the director of the National History Museum in Bucharest.
Police were alerted following reports of an explosion at 3:45 a.m. local time on 25 January. There was no guard in the museum at the time of the theft. Security camera footage at the site later revealed three hooded people carrying a duffle bag, a crowbar and flashlights before the explosion. The items stolen were part of the exhibition titled "Dacia: Empire of Gold and Silver", featuring archaeological treasures from museums across Romania that was scheduled to close on January 26.
Forensic teams and investigators examined the site and analyzed CCTV footage throughout the day. Authorities are also investigating a vehicle (dark gray Volkswagen Golf) found burning on a nearby road, suspecting it may have been connected to the crime. Next to that a Ford Transit was involved.
Dutch police said it was plausible "that the perpetrators switched vehicles after abandoning the burning car", and that multiple people were involved in the heist. Interpol was contacted to assist with the case.
After the robbery investigations were conducted in Alkmaar, Witmarsum, Groningen, Assen and Rolde. In the television program Opsporing Verzocht [nl], appeals were made to the people.
On January 27 a sledgehammer was found in the water on the museum grounds, which may have been used in the heist.
On January 28 it was announced that the suspects are from North Holland. The following day, the Dutch police arrested three suspects in Heerhugowaard, North Holland. They were tracked down after police found a bag that was left behind in a neighborhood in Assen, including clothes in it. Due to the importance of finding the stolen pieces, the police released the identity and images of two of the three suspects on January 30, which is very uncommon in the Netherlands in case of already arrested suspects. The two identified suspects were Douglas Chelsey Wendersteyt and Bernard Zeeman both from Heerhugowaard. The identity of the third suspect, a woman also from Heerhugowaard, was not released. The home of a neighbor of the two named suspects – a Romanian woman – was searched as well, though police stated she is not a suspect.
Drents Museum was closed temporarily due to the theft and is scheduled to reopen on 31 January. The remaining artifacts of the exhibition were returned to Romania.
On 27 January, Dutch minister of foreign affairs Caspar Veldkamp spoke to the Romanian minister of foreign affairs Emil Hurezeanu about the theft in Brussels. Veldkamp stated that "The Netherlands is doing everything it can to get the stolen objects back". Experts believe that the thieves intended to melt the artifacts.
In Romania, the loan agreement was met with criticism. On 28 January, the Romanian minister of Culture Natalia Intotero fired the director of the National History Museum of Romania, Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu [ro], because he had "failed to adequately protect the national heritage". Minister of Finance Barna Tánczos said that the Romanian government was prepared to fund a potential ransom to recover the stolen artifacts.
Răzvan Pop, directory of Sibiu's ASTRA Museum wrote that the theft reignited interest of Romanians in their culture and heritage "for the first time in the last 20 years."