Skip to content
Durham Castle and Cathedral, occupied by University College, Durham. Image by Robin Widdison, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

British police recover Chinese treasures stolen from museum

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Durham Castle and Cathedral, occupied by University College, Durham. Image by Robin Widdison, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Durham Castle and Cathedral, occupied by University College, Durham. Image by Robin Widdison, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

LONDON (AFP) – British police said Saturday they had recovered Chinese treasures stolen in a carefully plotted raid on a museum.

Two Qing Dynasty artifacts worth more than £2 million ($3.2 million, 2.4 million euros) in total were stolen from the Oriental Museum of Durham University in northeast England on the night of April 5.

The raiders carefully chiseled through a wall, taking more than 30 minutes, then were in and out of the museum in as little as 60 seconds.

Using torches, they made straight for two separate cabinets containing an 18th-century jade bowl and a Dehua porcelain figurine.

The bowl dates from 1769 and has a Chinese poem written inside, while the figurine is of seven fairies in a boat and stands about 12 inches high.

Despite arresting five people from the Birmingham area in the English West Midlands, police could not initially find the artifacts and alerted the ports.

But a police spokeswoman said Saturday: “Both artifacts have been recovered.”

A 40-strong team of detectives are looking for two men wanted in connection with the raid—one of whom was among the five people arrested.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Durham Castle and Cathedral, occupied by University College, Durham. Image by Robin Widdison, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Durham Castle and Cathedral, occupied by University College, Durham. Image by Robin Widdison, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.