Two British brothers have been ordered to leave Switzerland for five years following their participation in the burglary of a museum housing rare Chinese artefacts. Stewart and Louis Ahearne appeared in court in Geneva and admitted to playing a role in the heist. They stole a 14th Century bowl and vase, causing damage amounting to £3.2m to the Museum of Far Eastern Art, as part of a gang. Prosecutor Marco Rossier has recommended that the pair are sentenced to four years in prison, along with a third man named as Daniel Kelly.
In court, Rossier argued that “Louis Ahearne booked the hotel room, the ski masks and clothing used in the burglary. Everything was prepared and organised. Everything was very quick.” Additionally, the prosecutor stated that Stewart Ahearne hired the car which was used to travel to and from the museum. Louis Ahearne conducted a reconnaissance of the museum before the raid. The three people involved took one of the bowls to an auction house in Hong Kong, while a second item was later recovered in London after being sold under an undercover police operation. The whereabouts of the third item, a wine cup, remains unknown.
The prosecution did not believe the brothers’ version of the event, whereby Louis claimed he was erasing a debt from an unnamed individual and Stewart responded by saying he was protecting his younger brother. Rossier stated that the third attacker was not present in court and is in the process of being extradited to Japan. The brothers will be sentenced on Tuesday.
The defence barristers for the Ahearne brothers will present their mitigation before the president of the court Patrick Monney delivers their sentencing. Stewart Ahearne’s partner Nicola Barry spoke in court, depicting the father-of-five as a “kind, loving and nice person” and said his employer guaranteed him a job upon his release. Meanwhile, the brothers’ mother, Suzanne Ahearne, stated that Louis Ahearne had an unhappy childhood and since his extradition has been writing to his nine-year-old son, attempting to give guidance absent from his own upbringing
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More