In France, police were searching for drugs but found a stolen Picasso painting worth 15 million euros
Kyiv • UNN
French police, during a search of the home of a suspected drug trafficker, discovered a stolen Picasso painting worth 12-15 million euros. The man confessed to the theft, stating that he wanted to show the flaws in the security system.
French law enforcement officers, during an operation against drug trafficking, discovered a stolen painting by Pablo Picasso, valued at 12-15 million euros. This is reported by Le Parisien, writes UNN.
Details
The canvas was found on June 15 during a search of the home of the aunt of a 37-year-old man suspected of illegal drug trafficking. In addition to the painting, police seized nearly 20 kg of hashish, cash, and designer clothing worth hundreds of thousands of euros.
According to the investigation, the painting depicting Marie-Thérèse Walter – one of Picasso's muses – belongs to an investor from Singapore and was stolen from an art storage facility in Paris.
The suspect admitted to stealing the painting
Investigators established that the detainee had previously worked for a company that stored works of art. During interrogation, he admitted his involvement in the theft of the canvas.
According to the man, he allegedly wanted to demonstrate the shortcomings of his employer's security system. However, the Créteil prosecutor's office did not accept this explanation and opened proceedings for theft and concealment of stolen property.
Along with the main suspect, five other people were detained, three of whom were taken into custody. The investigation is also checking whether other valuable works of art could have disappeared from the Parisian storage facility.