Alleged cat burglar arrested after priceless Egyptian artefacts taken in Queensland museum heist | Queensland

Queensland police have arrested a man accused of staging a brazen cat burglary of priceless Egyptian artefacts from a museum in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

The man, 52, of no fixed address, was arrested on Russell Island in Moreton Bay on Saturday evening, after police allegedly found most of the stolen artefacts in a camper van parked at a ferry terminal.

Another missing piece, a 2,600-year-old wooden cat sculpture from the 26th dynasty of ancient Egypt, was allegedly found in his possession.

The arrest brings to the close a two-day hunt for the stolen items, which were taken from the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology at Caboolture about 3am on Friday.

In scenes reminiscent of the 2025 Louvre heist, police said a thief had smashed a window at the museum and left with a number of items from its ancient Egypt exhibit. They included a 3,300-year-old necklace and a mummy mask.

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About 1.30pm on Saturday, police said, they located a vehicle of interest parked at the Cleveland ferry terminal, about 80km from the museum. Inside they found most of the stolen artefacts.

Footage released by police appears to show that the mummy mask was found inside the vehicle wrapped in a Venezuelan flag.

It appears the artefacts sustained only minor damage.

Later on Sunday, police arrested the 52-year-old. He was charged with breaking and entering, and three counts of wilful damage.

He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.