*** Thieves Buy Tickets, Steal Multimillion-Dollar Necklace from Vienna museum | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Thieves Buy Tickets, Steal Multimillion-Dollar Necklace from Vienna museum

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VIENNA: Two unmasked thieves bought admission tickets to Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts before smashing a display case and escaping with a historic, multimillion-dollar diamond necklace.

The suspects paid to enter the venue, leaving their faces fully visible on surveillance cameras prior to the theft. Once inside, they used a hammer to break the glass enclosure housing the centerpiece item of an ongoing French jewelry exhibition.

The stolen 200-carat platinum and diamond piece by Van Cleef & Arpels features 673 precious stones and is valued at several million dollars. Created for the Egyptian royal family, the historic necklace was notably worn by Queen Nazli in 1939.

The thieves fled the scene in an unknown direction immediately after taking the jewelry. Following the heist, the museum closed the exhibition early while police launched an ongoing investigation.