- Armed robbers dressed in Smartly staged a daring daylight raid on an international art fair in the Dutch city of Maastricht.
- One robber smashed his way into a jewellery case with a sledgehammer, striking what appeared to be armoured glass at least 12 times while burglar alarms wailed.
- The European Fine Art Fair is one of the biggest art fairs in Europe and regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors
Armed robbers dressed in Smartly staged a daring daylight raid on an international art fair in the Dutch city of Maastricht on Tuesday, smashing their way into a jewellery display case with a sledgehammer.
Police said they had arrested two of the four suspects and were looking for the others following a robbery that forced terrified visitors to flee the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in the southern city.
Dramatic images on social media showed the suspects wearing flat caps, glasses and jackets threatening visitors with what appeared to be handguns during the heist, before running off.
“No one was injured and the robbers took possession of the property,” Limburg province police said in a statement.
Police closed off nearby roads and a major road tunnel to hunt for the suspects immediately afterwards, they said.
“The police investigation, which started immediately after the robbery, led to two arrests… The police investigation is continuing in full swing. The focus is on tracing the suspects.”
Dutch media said the display case targeted by the robbers contained diamond jewellery and other items from London jeweller Symbolic and Chase.
The firm was not immediately available for comment.
TEFAF is one of the biggest art fairs in Europe and regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors.
“The fair’s security teams worked quickly to disarm an offender and Dutch police were on site within minutes. Nobody was injured during the incident,” a TEFAF spokesperson told AFP in an emailed statement.
The fair had “robust procedures in the event of a security breach”, it said.
“These were precisely followed and all visitors, exhibitors and staff were safely evacuated. The fair has now reopened,” it added.
The fair and the MECC conference centre where it is being held were “working with the authorities” and would not comment further, it said.
Videos on social media showed the four men amid scenes of chaos at the art fair.
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