Germany makes arrests over theft of biggest gold coin

Police in the German capital on Wednesday carried out a series of searches and arrests in relation to the recent theft of a Canadian gold coin valued at $4 million, the largest ever minted in the world.

The huge disc, named "Big Maple Leaf" and weighing about 100 kg (221 pounds), was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum on March 27, Efe news reported.

"We are at the moment conducting searches and executing arrest warrants in several places in Berlin concerning the break-in at the Bode Museum in March," Berlin police said on Twitter.

The coin, minted in 2007 within a very limited series, is made of 99.999 per cent pure gold and has a portrait of British Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a Canadian maple leaf on the other.

It was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest gold coin in 2008.

While the gold's material value is about $4 million, the coin's face value is set at only around $1 million. It was produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.

The robbers are believed to have used a ladder to get into the museum and a wheelbarrow to carry the coin. Last week, police released CCTV footage of suspects at a local train station.

The suspects could be seen crossing the empty train tracks towards Monbijou Park and the James Simon Park, which were connected by a land bridge to the Island of Museums.

The theft was discovered when the ladder as well as the wheelbarrow apparently used to transport the loot were found next to the train tracks.

Police at the time offered a reward of 5,000 euros ($5,743) to anyone providing any clue to help solve the case.

--IANS

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