Alleged cat burglar nabbed over ‘amateur’ museum heist
A man who allegedly escaped to an Australian island with a priceless wooden cat has been accused of stealing ancient Egyptian artifacts from the time of the pyramids.
Queensland Police said the 52-year-old man broke into the Abbey Museum of Art and Archeology north of Brisbane in the early hours of Friday morning and carried out the robbery.
He is accused of stealing a number of antique items dating back 3,000 to 5,000 years, including a ring, a necklace, a tapestry collar, a mask and a cat statue.
They have since been recovered with only minor damage, but some may be beyond repair, the museum said.
Detective Inspector David Harbison said the artworks were priceless and investigators initially thought an organized crime gang was behind the theft.
“(But) it became clear pretty quickly that this was not organized crime. It was actually quite amateurish,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Police will allege the man broke a window to enter the museum at around 3am and then fled the scene with artifacts “worth a lot of money”.
Officers were able to identify him using CCTV footage and his Toyota van was found parked at the Redland Bay ferry terminal on Saturday.
Det Insp Harbison said: “We found most of the artefacts relatively undamaged, which was extraordinary; it had been thrown into the car quite haphazardly.” he said.
The man was tracked down near Russell Island in Moreton Bay, about 60 kilometers southeast of Brisbane.
“The cat statue was found on him, in a bag, in a rucksack, which shows how much he respected the real items,” Det Insp Harbison said.
The man’s claim that he stole items that he planned to break into or that he intended to sell them for financial gain is not believed.
Det Insp Harbison said he was living in his van and traveling along the coast.
“This was presented as an opportunistic issue for him,” he said.
“It is very gratifying to get these works back.”
The man is also charged with trespass and assault in the Noosa area before entering the museum.
He was charged with trespassing, criminal trespass and three counts of intentional damage for the museum incident.
Museum director Nina Pye said she was relieved the artifacts were found “in relatively good condition and without excessive damage.”
The items were used in Egyptian funerary traditions and date back to the “golden age” of the pyramids.
However, it may take some time for them to be exhibited again as they will need to be protected.
The man is scheduled to appear in Cleveland Magistrates Court on Monday.
