The report of the robbery was received by emergency services around 11:40 a.m. The fair reopened to participants and the public around 1 p.m., the organization reports in a statement. “TEFAF has strict safety procedures in place. That is why the stock market has been temporarily evacuated. The evacuated participants and visitors have now been allowed to return to the fair. TEFAF and MECC are working closely with the authorities. We are not making any further announcements at this time.” Shortly after the incident, TEFAF was evacuated. A police spokesman said the area is now quiet again.
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Police action on highway
On the A2 highway, a gray car with a foreign registration number was stopped by four police cars. Sheepdogs were also deployed in the action.
Traffic has come to a standstill due to the police action. “We have indeed had some roads closed as a result of the investigation after the robbery at Tefaf and have arrested two suspects on the A2 on the south side of the tunnel,” said a spokesman for the Limburg police. “The investigation is still in progress. In addition, we are still looking for two other suspects. That is now our top priority.”
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The city center of Maastricht is inaccessible from the north. The Koning Willem Alexandertunnel is closed.
Smashed showcases
At the London jeweler Symbolic & Chase, the windows of a display case have been smashed.
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Several men allegedly threatened with weapons during the robbery. According to an eyewitness, the display case was smashed with a sledgehammer.
According to Tefaf participant Robbert van Ham of Jaski Art Gallery, the robbers were after a jeweler. “Showcases have been smashed with an axe. All exhibitors were directed outside neatly and quickly by security. There was no panic. Although it was exciting, because it was also said that firearms may have been involved.”
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According to De Limburger, visitor Julie Bartholomeus from Maastricht saw how a second person took a gun. “I thought very quickly to leave. My mother was a little further away, so I picked her up and we ran to the first exit.”
According to Van Ham, the loot seems limited. “Not much was stolen. In the meantime, calm seems to have returned to the stock market. We can go back inside in a minute,” said Van Ham.
‘Bold action’
Art detective Arthur Brand thinks the heist on Tefaf is a very daring move. “The sheer courage to commit a robbery and attack display cases with a claw hammer on the crowded Tefaf, disguised with caps and mustaches, reminds me of an Eastern European method. There are gangs in Eastern Europe that have specialized in this method. Although it is also an option that the robbers are stupid. Tefaf is of course the most important art fair in the world. So if you can steal something there, you know it’s the best stuff of the highest quality. I suspect these guys have thought: ‘We’re going for the very best right away’.”
He doesn’t think it’s related to the Marengo process. “Although it is possible that those robbers think that the police are busy with that process, they cannot be here in Maastricht in large numbers. That’s a theory, could be.”
