Vienna police have initiated an international manhunt for two men who allegedly stole a necklace featuring over 600 diamonds from the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna. The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon when the suspects reportedly purchased tickets for the exhibition displaying the necklace, which is valued at more than $4 million. The necklace, designed for the former Egyptian royal family, was part of a Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition scheduled to run until September.
According to police reports, the suspects smashed a glass display case to seize the necklace and fled towards the Vienna Stadtpark, located just south of the museum. One of the suspects was believed to be carrying what appeared to be a real firearm during the incident.
Vienna police have released CCTV images of the suspects and are urging the public to provide any information that could assist in the investigation. Lilli Hollein, the general director of MAK, stated that the theft has significantly impacted the museum and emphasized that security measures had been thoroughly reviewed prior to the exhibition. Hollein noted that staff followed established procedures during the incident, and fortunately, no injuries were reported.
The stolen necklace was worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 during the marriage of her daughter to the future Shah of Iran. The theft is part of a troubling trend of high-profile heists at European museums, with recent incidents including the theft of prehistoric artifacts from a Spanish museum and several valuable paintings from Italian museums. Europol has indicated that museum thefts are becoming more aggressive, suggesting the involvement of new criminal networks.
Police dog units and forensic experts are currently analyzing evidence and CCTV footage in Vienna and the surrounding province of Lower Austria. The exhibition, minus the stolen necklace, reopened on Friday.