"Big Maple Leaf" Thieves Caught, $4 Million Coin Likely Melted

German special commandos have arrested 4 people aged between 18 and 20 in connection with the theft of the "Big Maple Leaf"  coin stolen from Berlin's Bode museum back in March in a brazen theft that shocked the public.

Earlier in the year we reported here that:

Thieves stole a gold coin with a face value of almost €1 million and weighing 100 kilograms from Berlin's Bode Museum on Monday.

According to German media, the stolen coin is the "Big Maple Leaf", a commemorative piece issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007.

The coin, 53 cm across and three cm thick, features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bode Museum gave the face value of the coin at €920,000, though the market price of 100 kg of gold is around €3.7 million.

German police said on Twitter that the robbers likely used a ladder found at a nearby rail track to break into the museum at around 3:30 am.

It seems as Reuters reports, that the coin was melted down. Over 300 officers were used to locate and arrest the perpetrators in the 3 month long pursuit.  The thieves were linked to an Arab clan suspected of being involved in other crimes such as jewelry theft. The arrests were made in the Neukoelln area of Berlin

Berlin police present court exhibits in Berlin, Germany, July 12, 2017, after special police commandos arrested several people during raids over the spectacular robbery of a 100 kilo gold coin, worth about $4 million, from Berlin's Bode Museum in March.Fabrizio Bensch

 

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