British brothers charged over stolen Ming porcelain
TWO British brothers have been accused of stealing Ming dynasty porcelain worth £2.9 million in a smash-andgrab raid on a museum in Switzerland.
Louis Ahearne, 33, and his brother Stewart, 43, are wanted by Swiss authorities for allegedly burgling the Baur Foundation’s Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva on June 1 2019.
In an extradition request to the UK, Swiss prosecutors said the brothers and an associate called Daniel Kelly wore gloves and masks as they smashed a panel on the museum’s front door to gain entry at 11.20pm.
They then shattered a display case, stealing two bowls and a vase dating back to the Ming dynasty which ruled China between 1368 and 1644, the prosecutors alleged. The items were said to be worth $3.58 million (£2.87 million).
In the request, Marco Rossier, of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Geneva, said in October 2019, China Guardian (HK) Auctions in Hong Kong listed an item that may correspond to one of the stolen bowls.
“A delegation from the Baur Foundation visited the auction house on Nov 5 and formally identified one of the bowls taken in the burglary,” he added.
Swiss authorities said they have proof of the Ahearnes’ involvement via air routing, car rental and phone records.
Stewart Ahearne’s DNA was found at the scene and Louis Ahearne was seen on CCTV, the request said, adding there was evidence the pair were in Switzerland before the date of the crime.
They have been charged with theft, criminal damage and unlawful entry and may serve more than 10 years if convicted.
Louis Ahearne, of Greenwich, southeast London, attended Westminster magistrates’ court in person.
He is currently serving a four-year sentence at HMP Wandsworth for burglary and possession of a Taser. Stewart Ahearne, of Eltham, south-east London, appeared by video link.
At an earlier hearing, District Judge Nina Tempia decided the pairs’ dependent families were not a strong enough reason to refuse extradition, the court was told yesterday. District Judge David Robinson sent the case to the Home Secretary for her consideration.