World

Two held in Berlin after heist of a 221lb gold Canadian coin

The Canadian Big Maple Leaf coin on display in the Bode Museum in Berlin<br />PICTURE: Marcel Mettlelsiefen/dpa/AP
The Canadian Big Maple Leaf coin on display in the Bode Museum in Berlin
PICTURE: Marcel Mettlelsiefen/dpa/AP
The Canadian Big Maple Leaf coin on display in the Bode Museum in Berlin
PICTURE: Marcel Mettlelsiefen/dpa/AP

SPECIAL police units have raided several homes in Berlin in connection with the brazen heist of a 221lb Canadian gold coin from one of the city’s most famous museums.


Heavily armed masked police arrested at least two suspects, one wearing a hood over his head, during early morning raids in the city’s Neukoelln neighbourhood.


Searches of the apartments were continuing, but the coin had not been found. Experts believe it might have been melted down to cash in on the gold.


The Canadian Big Maple Leaf coin, worth several million pounds, was stolen from the Bode Museum in March.


At least two burglars broke into the museum at night, using a ladder to climb to a window from elevated railway tracks.


The coin, which has an image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front and maple leaves on the back, was on loan from a private, unidentified person.


It is one of only five made by the Royal Canadian Mint.