[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] Three masterpieces were stolen from an art museum in Italy in just three minutes last March, but police recovered all of the works about five months later.
According to foreign media outlets including the Daily Mail, a masked gang broke into the Magliani Rocca Foundation Museum near Parma, Italy, sometime between the night of March 22 and the early hours of March 23 local time. After entering the museum, they fled with three works by French masters in just 180 seconds.
The stolen works were Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Les Poissons," Paul Cézanne's "Still Life with Cherries," and Henri Matisse's "Odalisque on the Terrace." The three pieces were estimated to be worth more than 9 million euros, or about 14.8 billion won, in total.
CCTV footage at the time captured the suspects, wearing headlamps, breaking into the building, removing the artworks, and passing them out through a window. The crime was carried out in just three minutes.
Investigators said the suspects used signal jamming devices to disable the museum's alarm system. They also appear to have carefully planned the theft, including setting off a fire extinguisher nearby to distract security staff.
However, traces left behind during the crime provided clues for the investigation. Police reportedly identified the suspects by tracking a fire extinguisher found at the scene and tools used in the theft. Local reports said the suspects are believed to be linked to a group that mainly targets stores and offices.
Police later searched a house in Parma and found all three stolen works. Unexpectedly, the pieces had been hidden inside cardboard boxes that had once held a flat-screen TV. According to the Associated Press (AP), five Moldovan nationals were arrested in connection with the case. Reuters, however, reported that nine Moldovan nationals are under investigation, suggesting the number of suspects may change as the probe continues.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
