200 rare books stolen in £2.5m Heathrow heist are found buried

Around 200 stolen books including rare works by Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton and Copernicus have been found buried under a tiled floor at a house in rural Romania.

The books, valued at more than £2.5 million and belonging to three dealers, were taken in a sophisticated heist at a warehouse near Heathrow while waiting to be shipped to an auction in the United States in January 2017.

Thieves cut holes in the roof and abseiled down to avoid motion sensors, winching the haul back up in 16 large bags.

Once feared “lost to the world forever”, the works were found by Romanian detectives on Wednesday during a search in Neamț in Moldavia.

They included works from 17th century Italian astronomer Galileo, mathematician and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton and the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish painter Francisco Goya which were to be sent to the US for the international antiquarian book fair.

Met detectives spent almost three years working with colleagues in Romania and Italy, alongside Europol and Eurojust, to track down the books to the rural hideaway.

They were found wrapped in plastic buried in a concrete vault.

Detective Inspector Andy Durham, from Specialist Crime South, said: “This recovery is a perfect end to this operation. These books are extremely valuable, but more importantly they are irreplaceable and are of great importance to international cultural heritage.”

The Met investigation identified the suspects involved as part of a Romanian organised crime group responsible for high-value warehouse burglaries across the UK.

Some 45 addresses in Britain, Romania and Italy were raided in June last year, leading to 13 suspects being charged in the UK with conspiring to commit burglaries and to acquire criminal property.

Twelve pleaded guilty and face sentencing later this month. The 13th defendant will go on trial in March.