U.K. police hunt suspects after 600 items relating to the British Empire are stolen from a museum

Photos show four people police are looking to speak to in connection with a robbery in Bristol. (Avon and Somerset Police)

LONDON — More than 600 artifacts relating to the history of the British Empire and Commonwealth have been stolen from the collection of Bristol Museum, police said Thursday as they released images of four suspects.

The Avon and Somerset Police force said the items with “significant cultural value” were taken from a storage building in the early hours of Sept. 25.

The force said it wanted to speak to four men over the theft and appealed to the public for information.

It was unclear why the appeal was being made more than two months after the crime.

Bristol City Council said the stolen items include medals, badges and pins, necklaces, bangles and rings, decorative items such as carved ivory, silver items and bronze figurines, as well as geological specimens.

Philip Walker, the council’s head of culture and creative industries at Bristol City Council, said the stolen items are part of a collection that documents two centuries of links between Britain and the countries that once formed its empire.

“The collection is of cultural significance to many countries and provides an invaluable record and insight into the lives of those involved in and affected by the British Empire,” Walker said.

Det. Constable Dan Burgan, the investigating officer, said the theft “is a significant loss for the city.”

“These items, many of which were donations, form part of a collection that provides insight into a multilayered part of British history, and we are hoping that members of the public can help us to bring those responsible to justice.”

The port city of Bristol, 120 miles (195 kilometres) southwest of London, played a major role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Ships based in the city transported at least half a million Africans into slavery before Britain outlawed the slave trade in 1807. Many 18th-century Bristolians helped fund the trade and shared in the profits, which also built handsome Georgian houses and buildings that still dot the city.

It was the focus of international attention and debate in 2020, when anti-racism demonstrators toppled a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston from its plinth in the city and dumped it in the River Avon.

The vandalized statue was later fished out and put on display in a museum.

The Associated Press