After the theft of a gold treasure from a museum in Manching, Upper Bavaria, investigators are investigating dpa information four suspects arrested. The arrests were made on Tuesday during a search operation in the greater Schwerin area in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Investigators said there was an “overwhelming burden of proof” in the case. During the investigation, part of the gold treasure was allegedly secured.
On the night of November 22, previously unknown perpetrators broke into the Celts-Romans Museum in Manching and stole a treasure containing 483 Celtic gold coins from around 100 BC and three other coins. The pure material value of the 3.7-kilo treasure was estimated at around a quarter of a million euros, but the commercial value of the historical coins is in the millions. The coin collection unearthed in Manching in 1999 was the largest Celtic gold find of the past century and the showpiece of the house. The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office investigated with a special commission called “Oppidum”. Their trail now apparently led to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
After the burglary, the museum only reopened the current special exhibition in December; the permanent exhibition remained closed until the end of April. “The theft hit us hard and is still having an impact today,” said Manching’s Mayor Herbert Nerb at the reopening.