Thieves Steal Swedish Crown Jewels, Evade Police in Speed Boat Chase

The two crooks made off with a pair of crowns and a royal orb.

byWill Sabel Courtney|
Thieves Steal Swedish Crown Jewels, Evade Police in Speed Boat Chase
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A pair of thieves in Sweden stole several pieces of royal jewelry from a display in a church on Monday before departing via speedboat, evading police boats and aircraft long enough to vanish into the wind with the priceless artifacts.

The jewelry, consisting of the funeral crowns worn by 17th century Swedish king Karl IX and his wife Kristina and and a sort of orb Swedish radio reportedly described as a "riksapple," was kept in a locked display in a cathedral in Strängnäs, according to news reports. No one was injured in the theft. 

The two crowns, as well as the "riksapple" (center), Swedish Police

According to the police, the two thieves are believed to have left the cathedral on a pair of black women's bicycles, which they rode down to the waterfront, at which point they switched modes to a small open-roofed powerboat. 

"One of my friends saw two people running," said Tom Rowsell, according to the Daily Mail. "I saw the boat just there, a white little boat with a motor on the back. The two men hurriedly jumped on board. We contacted the police and told them and they told us they had taken something from the cathedral."

Police then gave chase, going after the boat-driving duo by several vehicular methods, including via helicopter. 

“We are on land, in the water, and in the air,” a police spokesperson said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald

Strängnäs harbor, Wikipedia

Nevertheless, the duo managed to evade capture, as police eventually lost track of their boat's whereabouts. Due to Strängnäs's position on Lake Malar, police say the thieves could have fled to the west via water, or transferred to a car and driven east towards Stockholm.

Police have declined to say how much the stolen crown jewels are worth. "It is not possible to put an economic value on them," chief police spokesperson Thomas Agnevik said. "These are invaluable objects of national interest."

Editor's Note: Yes, that's a screengrab from the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die

pictured at top, not a shot from the actual boat pursuit. Hey, it was either that, or the picture of Strängnäs harbor.

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