Detentions in Bergen Museum Heist, Objects Recovered

Some of the recovered items Photo:
 Universitetsmuseet i Bergen / NTB scanpix

Four men are now being held by police in connection with the theft of 400 Viking objects from Museum of Bergen. The police have recovered some of the 400 items stolen from the museum in August, and they are being returned to the museum ('Viking treasures returned to Norwegian museum' the Local 10 November 2017). It is reported that two-thirds of the treasures have now been recovered. A photo shows them stored by the thieves in a blue plastic IKEA carrier bag - we have seen metal detectorists also like plastic carrier bags in the UK. However, some gold artefacts are still missing.

The first detention was made in October, when a man turned himself in at Bergen Police Station and claimed to have taken part in the August 14th robbery. Police interrogation of the man led to the further arrests in the case. The first man is now 'under the care of the health service'. The interrogation of this man led to two further arrests this week, it is beiong reported that they are connected in some way to 'a drugs-connected group in Bergen'.

A fourth man has now been arrested. The man, who is in his fifties, is suspected of handling stolen goods, but had not been involved in the break-in at the museum, the police 'found objects at his home',  some of which were broken. Police are assessing whether potential charges against the suspects could include damaging culturally or historically valuable objects.

Before the theft (Irish Times)