Among the questions raised by yesterday's theft of Picasso's work from the National Gallery, the possible involvement of robbers with an international network that "specializes" in specific thefts are also reasonable.

Since the theft of important works of art has increased worldwide—as has the demand for specific paintings and signatures—it is only natural that suspicions turn to the international milieu.. Suffice it to say that just last summer the thief of the famous "Woman's Head" - by tragic coincidence the painting stolen from the Gallery is titled "Woman's Head" - that was stolen from a San Francisco gallery was arrested.

It should be noted that the perpetrator who was released after his arrest posted bail 5 millions of dollars without anyone ever questioning their origin! Equally paradoxical was the attempt made to disassociate the name of the robber in question from an international network of art smugglers.

Two years before the San Francisco robbery there had also been a major robbery at the Picasso Museum, noon day, by two armed robbers. The robbers had then escaped with two large ones, expensive and valuable Picasso works under dispute, the: “The painter and the model” (1963) and “Minotaur, drinker and women” (1933) as well as a pad with drawings by the Spanish painter. Suffice it to note that the Picasso Museum is located in the bustling Marais area of ​​Paris, in narrow and difficult alleys - which are not suitable for such escapes.

However, the biggest heist of Picasso's works, had noted the 1993 from the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art,  where they had, among others, eight are stolen (;) works by Picasso and one by the French cubist Georges Braque, value 40 million dollars. Some of them were found, some others remain unclaimed, like so many others bearing the signature of the famous Spanish artist. Be that as it may, in times of crisis, Picasso's name remains high on the international art market, and it is natural that it is at the center of experienced - and not only - art robbers.

The scenarios that the Police are considering

From their side, the security police have come up with two possible scenarios for what really happened in the early hours of yesterday at the National Gallery. Given that the perpetrators "struck" in just seven minutes, they knew details and possibly even had insider information about the big job, these lead to the conclusion that they are professional burglars who have been planning the trick for a long time.

Absolutely valid information states that the first scenario wants:

–    The perpetrators are members of an international ring, "bad works of art", who after stealing the paintings, they dump them on the black market. After all, all over the world and especially in Russia, China and America there are avid collectors who would pay a lot of money to acquire a Picasso, even through underground black market connections.

"We have already informed the international security authorities about this particular one and the other two that took flight", stresses to protothema.gr a ​​police officer dealing with the case and adds: “Indeed, we are trying through informants to find out if there is specific information on the specific paintings in the black markets of art".

–    The theft was made to order. That is, a collector made a deal with mice for a large sum to enter the National Gallery and disappear the works. In this case, the work of the Police is more difficult, as the three stolen paintings and especially the only Picasso that existed in Greece will not go under the hammer.

Either scenario is ultimately verified, The work of the Police is particularly difficult, as the perpetrators left little traces behind them…

Source : protothema.gr