Brits fight claim they masterminded £2.5m Ming ring
THREE British men have been accused of stealing a Ming vase and two bowls worth £2.8million from a Swiss museum.
Louis Ahearne, Stewart Ahearne and Daniel Kelly have been named in an international arrest warrant in the UK from Switzerland.
It alleges they broke into the Baur Foundation Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva in June 2019 and stole the Chinese porcelain objects.
The 15th-century vase is said to be unique, of cultural significance and worth around £2.5million.
Louis Ahearne, 33, was arrested by
By Jon Austin
the Met Police in prison, where he is serving a sentence for burglary and possession of a stun gun.
He is fighting extradition to Switzerland and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court last week when the case was adjourned.
The vase was recovered by the Met Police in October 2020, after officers arrested two men aged 42 and 44 in Mayfair on suspicion of handling stolen goods.
Detective Superintendent Jimitele said: “While this vase is valued at around £2.5million, it is a one-off and unique, and therefore has immeasurable cultural value.the organised crime group at the centre of this investigation is also suspected of involvement in serious violence.”
Louis Ahearne and Kelly, both from Charlton, south east London, were jailed for four and five years respectively at Maidstone Crown Court in May 2020 for their part in a burglary in Kent. Ahearne was given an extra year for possession of a stun gun.
It is not clear if Kelly or Stewart Ahearne have been held on the arrest warrant yet.