This photograph shows a close-up view of the recovered golden helmet of Cotofenesti during its presentation to the press at the Drents Museum in Assen April 2, 2026. Sem van der Wal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Three men were each sentenced to 47 months in prison on Friday for the theft of an ornate Romanian gold helmet and bracelets in a raid on a Dutch museum.

The Northern Netherlands District Court said the three men, whose identities were not released in line with privacy rules, warranted a custodial sentence "because of the nature and gravity" of their crime.

The robbers used explosives to force open a door during the overnight heist in January last year, the Drents Museum previously said. Security video distributed by police after the raid appeared to show three people opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion.

The Cotofenesti helmet and three golden bracelets — some of Romania's most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilization — were stolen from the Drents Museum while they were on loan for an exhibition. At the time, the museum's general director called it "a dark day" for the institution.

Cornel Constantin Ilie, the interim director of Bucharest's National History Museum, described the items as "relics of our historical memory, as the legacy of a civilization that continues to define us."

The helmet and two of the bracelets were found earlier this year after prosecutors agreed a deal with two of the thieves who helped facilitate the recovery in return for a lower sentencing demand by prosecutors. The third bracelet is still missing.

The bracelets were returned in "perfect condition," according to museum officials, while the helmet had a tiny bit of damage that was "very difficult even to see."

The court said the treasures were insured for about $6.6 million, but added "that is just a number, whereas the importance and value of objects like these cannot be expressed in money. They are, in a literal sense, priceless." The recovered artifacts have been returned to Romania.

"The art treasures are part of Romania's past and are of great importance to current and future generations," a written summary of the court verdict said.

While only two of the three suspects helped prosecutors get back the artifacts, judges gave all three reduced sentences, saying that they all should "profit from the return of the treasures."

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