SHARE
COPY LINK

VIKING

Viking treasures returned to Norwegian museum

A fourth man has now been arrested in connection with the theft of 400 Viking treasures from the University Museum of Bergen, which is now returning the objects to their displays.

Viking treasures returned to Norwegian museum
Two-thirds of the treasures are now reported recovered. Photo: Universitetsmuseet i Bergen / NTB scanpix

The man, who is in his fifties, is suspected of handling stolen goods, police attorney Linn Revheim told broadcaster NRK.

He was not present during the break-in at the museum, she said.

“Police found objects at his home,” Revheim told NRK, adding the statements made by the other suspects led to the fourth arrest.

He has been remanded in custody for four weeks, including two in isolation, reports the broadcaster.

Two arrests were made in connection with the case earlier this week.

University Museum of Bergen institute leader Asbjørn Engevik told NRK that staff “never gave up hope” of seeing the valuable Viking artefacts returned.

The museum is currently working on returning the objects to their previous places while also assessing any damage they may have sustained.

Two-thirds of the objects are now reported to have been recovered.

“It is too early to say how large the damage is, but much can be repaired. The things that are most damaged are the biggest challenge, especially where parts have been broken off,” he said.

Police are assessing whether potential charges against the suspects could include damaging culturally or historically valuable objects.

“We will assess this if and when the charges are brought, in which case potential sentencing would be made stronger,” Revheim told NRK.

The police operation to make the arrest was initiated in October, when a man turned himself in at Bergen Police Station and claimed to have taken part in the robbery, according to the broadcaster’s report.

Police interrogation of the man led to the further arrests in the case.

The man who confessed to police is also under the care of the health service, reports NRK.

The broadcaster also writes that it has received information connecting the two men arrested earlier this week to a drugs-connected group in Bergen.

READ ALSO: 400 Viking objects stolen in Norway museum heist

MUSEUM

German police arrest fugitive twin over Dresden museum heist

German police said Tuesday they have arrested one of two fugitive twin brothers from the so-called Remmo clan wanted over their suspected role in snatching priceless jewels from a museum in the city of Dresden.

German police arrest fugitive twin over Dresden museum heist
Archive photo from April 2019 shows the Jewellery Room of the Green Vault. Photo: DPA

The 21-year-old suspect was detained in Berlin on Monday evening over what local media have dubbed one of the biggest museum heists in modern history, a spokesman for the police in the eastern city of Dresden said.

The twins had eluded German authorities when they carried out raids last month and arrested three members of the Remmo clan, a family of Arab origin notorious for its ties to organised crime.

Police then named them as 21-year-old Abdul Majed Remmo and Mohammed Remmo.

All five suspects are accused of “serious gang robbery and two counts of arson,” Dresden prosecutors said.

Police did not immediately name the arrested twin. His brother remains on the run.

The robbers launched their brazen raid lasting eight minutes on the Green Vault museum in Dresden's Royal Palace on November 25th, 2019.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Dresden museum heist

Having caused a partial power cut and broken in through a window, they snatched priceless 18th-century jewellery and other valuables from the collection of the Saxon ruler August the Strong.

Items stolen included a sword whose hilt is encrusted with nine large and 770 smaller diamonds, and a shoulderpiece which contains the famous 49-carat Dresden white diamond, Dresden's Royal Palace said.

The Remmos were previously implicated in another stunning museum robbery in the heart of Berlin in which a 100-kilogramme gold coin was stolen.

Investigators last year targeted the family with the seizure of 77 properties worth a total of €9.3 million, charging that they were purchased with the proceeds of various crimes, including a 2014 bank robbery.

READ ALSO: €1 million gold coin stolen from iconic Berlin museum

SHOW COMMENTS