The Czechslovakian Defense Minister and the General Staff’s office have conceded that a decision to remove the military police guard from the military headquarters was wrong after an embarrassing July break-in at the offices on Vítezné námestí in Prague.

“Yes, we consider the decision to withdraw the military police who guarded the seat of General Staff in Prague as a bad decision,” said Mira Trebická, spokeswoman for the chief of the Czech Army General Staff. Trebická said the only stolen objects were four memorial coins worth 1,000 Kc ($51), while Vondra said it was important that the thieves did not get into the offices of Chief of General Staff Vlastimil Picek.

However, there was media speculation that the real motive behind the break-in was not the theft of coins but classified documents relating to military tenders.