Two Romanian citizens arrested in Gdynia less than 24 hours after armed Oslo jewelry heist

Armed robbery in Oslo

On 1 October 2026, two Romanian citizens entered a jewelry store located in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The two men, aged 31 and 37, produced a knife, threatened a store employee on duty, and stole gold items valued at several hundred thousand Norwegian kroner. Immediately following the robbery, the suspects fled the scene in a Volkswagen passenger car and drove directly toward the Norwegian coast, seeking to leave the country by maritime transport across the Baltic Sea.

Cross-border intelligence tracking

Norwegian law enforcement authorities launched an immediate search operation and determined that both men had boarded a commercial passenger ferry bound for the Polish port city of Gdynia. An urgent alert dispatched by Norway's SIRENE bureau was transmitted directly to the International Communication Centre Section within the International Police Cooperation Bureau at the Polish National Police Headquarters in Warsaw. During the night between 1 October and 2 October, Polish police headquarters forwarded the operational files to municipal police officers in Gdynia and the Polish Border Guard.

Officers in Gdynia took action to verify the intelligence and confirmed that the two suspects were physically present on board the vessel as it crossed the Baltic Sea. Polish investigators also discovered that the suspects planned to alter their route upon reaching land, intending to abandon their vehicle and board a scheduled passenger bus from Gdynia to continue their escape.

Aspirant Marek Kobiałko from the Municipal Police Headquarters in Gdynia detailed the international communication process between the involved services.

Urgent information from the Norwegian Sirene bureau reached the International Police Cooperation Bureau at the National Police Headquarters, and then went to Gdynia officers and the Border Guard. The 31- and 37-year-old were detained. Officers secured, among other items, 49 gold chains from them.

Interception at Gdynia port

When the ferry docked in the port of Gdynia early in the morning on 2 October 2026, Polish police teams were in position to execute the operation. At approximately 07:15 on Polska Street, officers intercepted and detained both Romanian nationals. Both men were subject to European Arrest Warrants that had been issued following the armed robbery. From the time the robbery occurred in Oslo to the arrest in Gdynia, less than 24 hours had elapsed.

Recovered valuables and judicial custody

During the arrest and search, officers recovered the stolen merchandise, which included 49 gold chains, one silver chain, a brooch, and a watch dial with pendants. Polish police also confiscated cash in Norwegian kroner and Romanian lei, three mobile phones, two SIM cards, and the clothing worn by both suspects during the incident.

Both men were transferred to a police detention facility in Gdynia. On 2 October 2026, following a formal petition submitted by the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, the court ordered preventive detention for the suspects. Local police communications and regional reports specified a detention term of two months, while another national report stated that the court applied a three-month detention period.