Three masked men on Sunday snatched a block of gold bullion valued at roughly $1.71 million (880,600 pounds) from a Japanese museum that allowed visitors to touch the 100 kg piece.

Shoving aside a woman museum worker, the three then fled with an accomplice who had been serving as lookout at the museum in Takayama, a small city in central Japan.

“There were no sensors or burglar alarms, since the museum allowed its visitors to touch the gold as they wanted,” a police spokesman said.

He could not explain why the gold had been displayed in the museum.