German suspects nabbed in Celtic gold heist after coins ruined
German authorities said Thursday they have
arrested four men accused of the daring theft of hundreds of Celtic gold coins
last year but believe part of the spoils have been melted down.
The 483 coins were snatched in November from a museum in the southern town of Manching, with thieves taking just nine minutes to break in and make off with the stash, according to police.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said investigators had now found 18 gold nuggets believed to have derived from the loot, with an estimated 70 coins presumed to have been destroyed to make them easier to sell.
The four suspects in custody are German citizens aged between 42 and 50.
At least three are believed to have carried out nearly a dozen previous heists in Germany and Austria since 2014, police said.
The coins from the Celtic and Roman Museum constituted the biggest discovery of Celtic gold in the 20th century.
Unearthed in 1999 in a dig at a settlement near present-day Manching, they date from around 100 BC.
The coins had an estimated market value of €1.6 million but far greater historical importance.
'Attack on cultural memory'
Markus Blume, Bavarian state minister for science and art, expressed some optimism the remaining coins would be found intact, calling the collection "irreplaceable".
"It helps tell the story of how Germany was settled... and how trade was established," he told reporters, calling the heist "an attack on our cultural memory".
"There is of course still hope that the remaining gold coins and thus the lion's share of the treasure can perhaps still be found."
Just before the break-in, nearby internet cables were cut -- causing widespread outages, and meaning an alarm was not triggered when a museum door was forced open, police said.
Blume said security should be increased to prevent future losses.
Germany has seen a raft of spectacular museum heists in recent years.
In 2017, a massive gold coin was snatched from a Berlin museum, and in 2019, thieves took 21 pieces of jewellery and other valuables from Dresden's Green Vault museum.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Dresden museum heist
Police had initially sought a link between the Celtic gold heist and the other museum robberies attributed to the notorious "Remmo clan", an extended family known for a web of ties to organised crime.
However the suspects from the Manching theft, fingered thanks to DNA evidence, are thought to have chosen more prosaic targets in the past including retail stores and a gaming hall, police said.
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The 483 coins were snatched in November from a museum in the southern town of Manching, with thieves taking just nine minutes to break in and make off with the stash, according to police.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said investigators had now found 18 gold nuggets believed to have derived from the loot, with an estimated 70 coins presumed to have been destroyed to make them easier to sell.
The four suspects in custody are German citizens aged between 42 and 50.
At least three are believed to have carried out nearly a dozen previous heists in Germany and Austria since 2014, police said.
The coins from the Celtic and Roman Museum constituted the biggest discovery of Celtic gold in the 20th century.
Unearthed in 1999 in a dig at a settlement near present-day Manching, they date from around 100 BC.
The coins had an estimated market value of €1.6 million but far greater historical importance.
'Attack on cultural memory'
Markus Blume, Bavarian state minister for science and art, expressed some optimism the remaining coins would be found intact, calling the collection "irreplaceable".
"It helps tell the story of how Germany was settled... and how trade was established," he told reporters, calling the heist "an attack on our cultural memory".
"There is of course still hope that the remaining gold coins and thus the lion's share of the treasure can perhaps still be found."
Just before the break-in, nearby internet cables were cut -- causing widespread outages, and meaning an alarm was not triggered when a museum door was forced open, police said.
Blume said security should be increased to prevent future losses.
Germany has seen a raft of spectacular museum heists in recent years.
In 2017, a massive gold coin was snatched from a Berlin museum, and in 2019, thieves took 21 pieces of jewellery and other valuables from Dresden's Green Vault museum.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Dresden museum heist
Police had initially sought a link between the Celtic gold heist and the other museum robberies attributed to the notorious "Remmo clan", an extended family known for a web of ties to organised crime.
However the suspects from the Manching theft, fingered thanks to DNA evidence, are thought to have chosen more prosaic targets in the past including retail stores and a gaming hall, police said.
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