Dutch court jails trio over Romanian golden helmet theft

THE HAGUE

A Dutch court on June 5 handed jail terms to three men convicted of the brazen theft of a 2,500-year-old golden Romanian helmet that sparked outrage in Romania and the art world.

The court sentenced the trio to terms of nearly four years (47 months) for stealing the fifth-century B.C. Helmet of Cotofenesti and three gold bracelets from a Dutch museum in January 2025.

“Given the nature and gravity of the offences, only a substantial prison sentence will suffice,” said the court in Assen, in the north of the Netherlands.

The heist and subsequent search for the loot has gripped the Netherlands and regularly made headline news.

In a dramatic development in April, authorities revealed they had recovered the helmet and two of the three bracelets after striking a bargain with two of the suspects.

Under huge pressure from Romania, Dutch police offered to reduce sentences for the robbers if they gave up the location of the booty.

The third bracelet, however, is still missing, with the search ongoing.

The helmet itself — a national treasure in Romania — suffered only slight damage and was returned to Bucharest in a near-perfect state.

In January 2025, the gang of robbers had used firework bombs to break into the Drents Museum in the north of the Netherlands, smashing display cases with sledgehammers and making off with the priceless haul.

Police arrested the trio days later, obtaining evidence linking them to the scene of the crime, including CCTV footage, DNA traces on fragments of glass and even shards of gold.

Prosecutors struck a plea bargain with two of them, identified as Jan B. (21), and Douglas Chesley W. (37), for the return of the loot. They therefore called for a 44-month sentence for this pair.

The other suspect, identified as Bernhard Z. (35), refused a deal with the authorities. Prosecutors had called for him to face a 66-month sentence.

The process of reaching a deal with the two suspects was “long, intensive, and complex,” said prosecutors.

However, the court decided to impose the same sentence on all three, regardless of the plea bargain.
“In the court’s opinion, all defendants should benefit from the return of the art treasures,” said the court in a statement.