Authorities have recovered a significant collection of books buried under the floor of a house in rural Romania. The books which include works by Galileo Galilei, scientist Sir Issac Newton and painter Francisco Goya were stolen from a warehouse in London in 2017.
The books were found earlier this week after an international investigation. About 200 books with a combined value of more than £2.5m were recovered, police say they are considered “irreplaceable” and of international importance.
Alessandro MedaRiquier, a book dealer, told Sky News that the stolen books included a 1566 second edition of De RevolutionibusOrbiumCoelestium by Nicolaus Copernicus. This particular edition is believed to be worth around £215,000.
A three-year investigation involving the Metropolitan Police, the Romanian National Police and Italian Carabinieri, supported by Europol and Eurojust, following raids across many places in the UK, Romania and Italy, led to the discovery.
Officials on Wednesday searched a house in Neamt, north-eastern Romania, and found the full collection had been buried underground. "These books are extremely valuable, but more importantly they are irreplaceable and are of great importance to international cultural heritage," said Det Insp Andy Durham, from the Metropolitan police's Specialist Crime South command.
The works were stored in a warehouse ahead of being shipped to a specialist book auction in Las Vegas, US, when they were stolen. The robbers had cut through the roof and managed to dodge protective sensors to take away the loot. The police had then said that escaped through the same route they entered.
According to the investigators, the gang flew group members in and out of the UK to commit offences. They also believe that the stolen books were carried out sing different alternative transport methods.
The police are also trying to connect this particular incident to other high-profile robberies that have taken place in warehouses in the UK. Officials say that the Romanian gang is linked to several major. crime families in the East European country.