On the night of November 23, 2022, nearly 500 coins were stolen from the Celtic-Roman Museum in Germany. The thieves proceeded in a targeted and professional manner, cutting fiber optic cables in a nearby distribution box, which left 13,000 households and the museum without service, thereby disarming the security systems of the building during the robbery.
Immediately after the discovery of the theft, the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) and the Public Prosecutor's Office set up the 'Oppidum' special commission, which set out to solve the case immediately, given that the stolen property is one of the most important Celtic gold finds of the 20th century, estimated to be worth €1.6 million ($1.77 million).
Related: A Celtic Gold Treasure Stolen from Bavarian Museum
Despite their professionalism, some traces were left by the perpetrators, including various tools in the vicinity of the museum and in two nearby bodies of water. The DNA traces were checked against databases in Germany and neighboring countries, resulting in eight hits that matched similar burglaries carried out in Germany and Austria since 2014.
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After further investigative work, four suspects – men of German nationality aged between 42 and 50 – were finally arrested on July 18 and 18 gold nuggets were seized. An initial micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis of their composition at the Forensic Institute of the BLKA showed that they were very probably processed parts of the looted Celtic gold - sadly confirming that the coins were stolen for their material value and possibly all melted down. Further investigations will soon show whether the remaining coins are still intact.
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"The investigation into the whereabouts of the gold treasure is continuing at full speed," said Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Hermann in a press release, in which he also emphasized the work of the investigators in charge: "The arrest of this professional burglary gang was made possible by the highly committed and meticulous work of the police and the public prosecutor's office."
