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Career criminal who sliced 350-year-old map from Greenwich museum atlas is jailed but STILL won't reveal where it is

Melvin West, from Chingford, led police, the courts and the National Maritime Museum a 'merry dance' over the missing page, a judge told him at Woolwich Crown Court. He registered at the Caird Library as 'Melville West' before cutting out Frederick de Wit's 1684 Nova Orbis Tabula. CCTV caught him hiding it in his clothes. He was given three years.

Police called him 'a thief with multiple convictions in Europe' for stealing antique book pages.

A hearing was adjourned so he could recover from heart surgery and return it. He never did.

MoreThe IndependentCareer criminal jailed for stealing 350-year-old map from National Maritime MuseumEvening StandardArt thief who stole 350-year-old map from Greenwich Maritime Museum jailed for three yearsWaltham Forest EchoChingford art thief jailed for stealing antique map from National Maritime Museum - Waltham Forest EchoSouthwark News73-year-old ‘art thief’ imprisoned for stealing antique map from Greenwich museum - Southwark NewsHounslow HeraldMan sentenced for stealing antique map - Hounslow Herald
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