Four years after stealing a Ming dynasty-era vase from a Swiss museum, three men have been convicted for the act.
In June 2019, the three men – Mbaki Nkhwa, Kaine Wright, and David Lamming – stole the artifact from the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva, Switzerland. The object was a white porcelain vase (technically a bottle) from the era of the Chinese Ming dynasty. At the time, it was worth £2 million ($2.5 million). Apart from it, two other objects were also stolen from the museum.
After going underground post-theft, the trio contacted an auction house in 2020 to get the valuation for the vase. Instead, the auction house tipped off the police. The authorities soon traced the IP address of the contact to David Lamming. The police organized a sting operation where they posed as buyers and met with the thieves in London in October 2020. After striking the deal for £450,000, the cops arrested Nkhwa as soon as he handed them the vase. The other two were also subsequently arrested.
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On Friday, Nkhwa and Wright were found guilty of conspiracy to convert criminal property. Lamming had already pleaded guilty earlier in March. The vase is currently worth £3.5 million ($4.5 million). Another object, a bowl, was sold at a Hong Kong auction house and returned. Only one object remains missing – a doucai-style wine cup. A reward of £10,000 is being offered on information regarding its whereabouts.