The security footage shows a thief smashed the doors of Singer Laren museum using a sledgehammer to steal the Vincent van Gogh painting “Lentetuin” or “Spring Garden” worth €2.97 million. The museum is currently shut down due to coronavirus pandemic.
The footage originated on Dutch TV in the hopes of catching the unidentified suspect. Some clips of the footage have been held by Police in the hopes of aiding the investigation.
As per the CCTV film, at 3:15 a.m. March 30th, the thief showed up outside the Museum riding a motorbike – alone. In the following seconds, he crushed the tempered glass doors of the Singer Laren gallery and made his way inside.
The museums doors at that point had been shut since Mar. 12 after the Dutch government prohibited events of in excess of 100 individuals due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He entered the exhibition hall through the gift shop. At that point, with a couple of hits to another glass entryway, he got entry to the main Gallery before leaving with the fine piece of art tucked under his arm and a sledgehammer in the other.
Source: Korps Nationale Politie
While the burglary had set off the alarm systems, the thief was well gone when the police showed up.
In a press briefing, Singer Laren’s Managing Director ‘Evert van Os’ defended the museum’s security.
The burglar broke through some doors and several layers of security that had been approved by security experts
Well… clearly.