Two British brothers jailed for breaking into Swiss museum to steal 14th century Ming antiques worth millions
16 January 2024, 21:28
Two British brothers have been sent to prison for breaking into a Swiss museum to steal 700-year-old Chinese antiques worth millions of pounds.
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Stewart Ahearne, 45, and Louis Ahearne, 36, have been found guilty of aggravated theft and sent to prison for three and a half years for the heist at Geneva's Museum of Far Eastern Art in June 2019.
The brothers helped steal a bowl and two 14th century vases that were said to be worth £3.5 million in total.
They have also been banned from Switzerland for five years each when their jail terms end and ordered to pay £13,770 in damages to the foundation that runs the museum.
The south-east London brothers, along with a third man named as Daniel Kelly, caused about £3.2 million pounds of damage with the power saw, sledgehammer and crowbar they used to break into the museum.
The judge in the Geneva trial, Patrick Monney, said the men "acted out of desire to enrich themselves".
He added that "this desire was considerable."
Describing the events of the burglary, he said: "During the burglary on 1 June 2019 the three act together.
"After checking out the configuration the day before they know where they are going to the point they run once inside.
"They are able to go in through the hole and out through that same hole in less than a minute."
One of the bowls was taken to Hong Kong, while the vase was taken to London, where it was recovered by Met Police officers in 2021 in a sting operation. The other bowl has not been found. The men were arrested, and extradited to Switzerland in 2022.
The two brothers, who claimed they were coerced into taking part in the raid, apologised before their sentencing.
Stewart Ahearne said: "I would like to say sorry to the person who owns the museum for the pain and inconvenience caused. I would like to say sorry to the Swiss society in general." He also apologised to his partner.
Louis Ahearne added: "I would like to add my condolences to the museum, Swiss society and my family for the stress I have put them through."
