Two model cars , worth between MXN $40,000 and $50,000 each, were stolen on August 4 from the Antique Toy Museum (MUJAM) located at Mexico City’s Doctores neighborhood, as announced by Roberto Shimizu, creative director of the museum.
In an interview with Ciro Gómez Leyva, he asserted that the saddest part is that the robbery was made on demand and that the legal complaint has already been filed.
According to the videos recorded by surveillance cameras, Shimizu said “it can be seen how the person goes to the display and takes out two pieces and takes nothing else."
Roberto Shimizu made a call to collectors not to purchase the pieces and to denounce if they see them at sale websites or Facebook.
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“We’ve lost faith in authorities, so we’ve gone with citizens and the community of collectors to see if, with their help, we are able to find the whereabouts of the pieces and mostly find those responsible because there is a mastermind, the one who ordered the robbery, and the actual perpetrator who executed the robbery,” he said.
Shimizu explained that the pieces are model cars that are quite difficult to find because they were made in Italy in the 1980s and that each person receives them in pieces and have to be assembled, “you must have an almost automotive dexterity, you can take from one to two years to assemble each one of those models.
They are invaluable collector’s pieces. These people don’t notice that by stealing from the museum, they are stealing from Mexico and people will no longer be able to enjoy these pieces in our venue,” he said.
The complaint was filed last week at the Investigation Agency of the Public Minister of the Cuauhtèmoc borough; they have asked to check the surveillance cameras of the Eje Central and nearby avenues.
“It would have been very easy to track them because they drove a bicycle on Eje Central and, soon after, 1 hour and 40 minutes later, they come back again (to take the cars),” he said.
The collectible cars are a Ferrari F40 and a Testarossa. “They are big pieces, of over 40 cm, and heavy. These people have hurt Mexico; they are pseudo-collectors who know the worth of what we have.”
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The MUJAM had been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened last month for private visits and has now reopened to the public with strict health measures and at 30% capacity.
The museum , which was sanitized with help from the Cuauhtémoc borough, has said only eight people are allowed at each of its seven halls and all visitors must wear face masks and hand sanitizer.
Roberto Shimizu stressed that the MUJAM is a private museum for which ticket revenues are very important; however, during July and August, the entrance to the museum is free, as they are aware of the current situation experienced by the society.
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