From NPR · · 1m 50s
DNA and tracking recover two stolen Renoirs
French investigators used DNA evidence and vehicle tracking to recover two paintings stolen from a museum on the Riviera and arrest four men suspected of planning another heist.
In brief
French investigators used DNA evidence and vehicle tracking to recover two paintings stolen from a museum on the Riviera and arrest four men suspected of planning another heist. French police recovered two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on September eighth using DNA evidence and vehicle…
Two Renoirs stolen in early morning raid
Four men were charged after stealing two paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera on September eighth.
Alarm forced thieves to abandon paintings
An alarm sounded four minutes after the thieves entered. Police arrived swiftly, apparently causing the perpetrators to panic. They abandoned two of four paintings they had targeted and fled with nothing.
DNA on protective cover identifies suspect
The abandoned paintings were found in a protective sleeve. DNA left on the cover matched a twenty-nine-year-old man already under investigation in a drug trafficking case where police were tracking his vehicle.
Vehicle tracking links suspects together
Vehicle-tracking data showed the twenty-nine-year-old, accompanied by a forty-one-year-old man, went to a third man's home shortly after the theft. Police surveillance also showed the suspect visited the Maeght Foundation art collection on October third.
Paintings hidden behind wall in staircase
The third suspect acknowledged receiving the paintings and hiding them behind a wall built beneath a staircase.Investigators recovered both Renoirs from the hiding place.
Charges filed as another heist suspected
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said arrests were prompted by very strong suspicion that another heist was imminent.
“very strong suspicion that another heist was imminent”
French museums face repeated art thefts
Christian Sainte, national director of judicial police, said France is repeatedly targeted by organized criminal groups stealing valuable cultural objects. French museums recorded twenty-three cases in twenty twenty-five and about ten this year.
The short version
French police recovered two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on September eighth using DNA evidence and vehicle tracking, and arrested four men suspected of planning further art thefts.
