{"id":9745,"date":"2026-04-15T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=9745"},"modified":"2026-04-15T09:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:00:26","slug":"dutch-prosecutors-ask-for-years-in-prison-for-suspects-involved-in-theft-of-romanian-gold-helmet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=9745","title":{"rendered":"Dutch prosecutors ask for years in prison for suspects involved in theft of Romanian gold helmet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands requested prison sentences of up to 66 months for the three suspects in the Drents Museum robbery that took place in January last year. The thieves managed to steal the 2,500-year-old Co\u021bofene\u0219ti Helmet<\/strong> and three gold bracelets on loan from Romania. Prosecutors said the suspects prepared the robbery down to the last detail.<\/p>\n

The most severe sentence was requested for Bernhard Z., aged 35, who did not reach an agreement with the prosecutors. The other two suspects, Jan B. (21 years old) and Douglas Chesley W. (37 years old), made a deal with the prosecution, which led to a lighter recommendation of 44 months in prison for each of them, according to Dutch media cited by News.ro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, the two suspects returned most of the stolen artifacts<\/a>, including the famous golden Helmet of Co\u021bofene\u0219ti and two gold bracelets. One bracelet has not yet been recovered. The Prosecutor\u2019s Office stated that there are no indications that they possess the third bracelet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The robbery caused widespread anger in Romania, as the artworks are of inestimable value and are tied to Romanian history, dating back to the time of the Dacians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Footage from surveillance cameras presented during the hearing shows three masked individuals entering the museum following a powerful explosion. With lights on their heads, they ran determinedly toward the display cases. Within a minute, they smashed the glass with hammers, took the artworks, and disappeared.<\/p>\n

Despite their speed, the perpetrators left crucial traces, according to the Public Prosecution Service. Clothing and a sports bag were thrown into a container next to a house on Pelikaan Street in Assen. DNA traces from two suspects were found on the clothing, namely Douglas Wesley W., aged 37, and Bernhard Z., aged 35, both from Heerhugowaard. Another suspect, Jan B., bought the tools used in the break-in.<\/p>\n

At the time of the robbery, the three were staying in a holiday house in the Lunsbergen holiday park in Borger. There, the police found shards of glass and traces of gold, exactly like those in the discarded bag. In addition, the Public Prosecution Service has access to evidence, including camera footage, regarding the theft of the getaway car and the purchase of materials. The cabin was booked by Jan B. and paid for from his bank account.<\/p>\n

In an attempt to recover the loot, the Public Prosecution Service deployed undercover agents who contacted Jan B. to buy the art treasures. Because W. and Z. remained silent during interrogations regarding the location of the art treasures, the prosecution decided to publish easily recognizable photos and the names of these suspects, pressuring them into a deal.<\/p>\n

The Co\u021bofene\u0219ti Helmet and two of the three bracelets were ultimately recovered on April 1, after an agreement was reached with W. and B. The third suspect, Bernhard Z., maintained that his role is smaller and did not participate in the agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

radu@romania-insider.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

(Photo source: Drents Museum on Facebook)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands requested prison sentences of up to 66 months for the three suspects in the Drents Museum robbery that took place in January last year. The thieves managed to steal the 2,500-year-old Co\u021bofene\u0219ti Helmet and three gold bracelets on loan from Romania. Prosecutors said the suspects prepared the robbery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}