Three men jailed over theft of 'priceless' golden helmet from Dutch museum

The men are sentenced to 47 months each for stealing the 2,500-year-old Romanian Coțofenești helmet.

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The Coțofenești helmet, which dates back to around 450BC, was snatched by an armed gang who broke into the Drents Museum in Assen more than a year ago. Three gold bracelets were also taken in the raid, prompting outrage in Romania and raising questions about security for artefacts on loan to other countries.

In April, the Dutch authorities announced they had recovered the helmet and two of the three bracelets after striking a bargain with two of the suspects.

The third bracelet is still missing and the search for it is ongoing.

The men were arrested within days of the gang using explosives to break into the museum, but by then there was no trace of the items, considered to be among Romania's greatest treasures.