THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) —
Police in Romania have uncovered a trove of “irreplaceable” books including
first editions of works by Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton that were stolen in
a sophisticated 2017 heist from a warehouse in London, police and the European
Union's judicial cooperation agency said Friday.
The stash of some 200 rare and
valuable books was discovered Wednesday hidden in a concealed space under a
house in rural Romania.
London's Met Police said in a
statement that the recovered books have a combined value of more than 2.5
million pounds ($3.2 million).
“These books are extremely
valuable, but more importantly they are irreplaceable and are of great
importance to international cultural heritage," Detective Inspector Andy
Durham said in a statement.
The books were stolen in a raid
on a warehouse in west London. Burglars cut holes in the roof and abseiled down
into the building to avoid motion detectors, loaded the books into 16 large
bags and clambered back up the ropes to make their getaway through the roof,
police said.
A joint investigation involving
police from London, Romania and the Carabinieri in Italy, supported by EU
agencies Europol and Eurojust in The Hague, identified 11 similar burglaries
across Britain, that netted some 2 million pounds worth of stolen property.
The Met Police said a Romanian
organized crime gang was responsible.
The probe led to a series of
raids in the three countries in June 2019 and the arrest of 13 suspects who
were charged in the U.K. with involvement in the burglaries.
The Met said that 12 suspects
have pleaded guilty and will face sentencing hearings starting later this
month. The 13th suspect is scheduled to go on trial in March.
