Film theft at the Maastricht art fair: sledgehammers against some showcases with jewels

Four people entered the facilities of Tefaf, the art fair in the Dutch city of Maastricht, on Tuesday and smashed the window of the London jeweler Symbolic & Chase with hammers.

The police have confirmed the arrest of two of the suspects (of Belgian nationality and aged 26 and 22, respectively) and are looking for the other two.

The assault has been captured in a video circulating on Twitter and in which four men can be seen wearing the same type of hat and jackets.

While one of them hits the bulletproof glass, another keeps the visitors at bay with a gun.

Afterwards, they put the alleged loot in a bag and run out of the conference center where the fair is taking place.

Alarms sound at all times and no member of security is seen.

Artur Ramon, from the gallery of the same name in Barcelona, ​​which exhibits in front of the robbed jewelry store, explained to EL PAÍS what happened: "I saw a man with a mace hitting the window and then another with a weapon threatening the visitors.

Pieces of great value that I saw every day from my gallery have been taken.

We have taken refuge inside and it has been fast, but in a situation like this it seems that more time passes.

The police have asked me to testify as part of the investigation.”

Symbolic & Chase, is a London firm focused on 20th century jewelery and art objects.

It is located on Bond Street, one of the streets of luxury commerce in the British capital.

Tefaf has been evacuated for a while to reopen later to the public.

Police investigators, in full task, do not confirm the details of the robbery.

Meanwhile, outside, the A2 motorway, which connects with Maastricht, has been closed to traffic to intercept a possible road escape by the assailants.

The management of the Dutch fair has reported in a statement that “the security team acted quickly to disarm the criminal [who was carrying the weapon] and the police arrived at the scene after a few minutes.

No one was injured."

A spokesperson added that they have “strong procedures in the event of a security breach […] no further statements will be made for now”.

Tefaf has already been the target of other robberies in the past.

In 2011 they took jewelry whose value was not made public;

the previous year the thieves stole a ring and a pendant worth 860,000 euros.

And in 2008, a €1.2 million diamond necklace went missing.

Tefaf opened to the public this Saturday on its 35th anniversary, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

242 gallery owners attended the event, exhibiting together 7,000 years of art history: from antiquity to contemporary pieces and jewellery.

The latter are usually among the most visited and spectacular galleries.

For the moment, sales are going at a good pace and there is an abundant presence of international museums in search of works.