Swiss police search for thieves who stole gold coins from Roman-era museum

Swiss police on Friday searched for two thieves who stole dozens of gold coins from a Roman-era museum in Lausanne.

Lausanne police said late Thursday that the suspects had purchased tickets to the museum and waited until other visitors left just prior to closing time, before assaulting and restraining the guard, and then breaking the display case, The Associated Press reported.

The monetary value of the coins stolen in the heist on Tuesday has not been announced, but police said they had “archaeological value.”

The robbery comes as gold prices have increased and historical crown jewels were stolen from the Louvre in Paris.

The Lausanne museum employee who was assaulted, a 64-year-old Swiss national, was interviewed by investigators and not injured in the incident, officials said. No one else was around at the time of the theft.

State prosecutors have opened an investigation into the robbery and Lausanne city officials filed a legal complaint for damage to the museum. Meanwhile, the regional government, which owns the gold coins, announced plans to file a criminal complaint.