[MSN] Brasil. São Paulo Police Departament recover stolen Picasso and Portinari

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Brazilian police recovered two stolen paintings, including a valuable  
Picasso, and arrested two suspects on Tuesday, nearly three weeks  
after the works were snatched from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art.

State police said they had recovered Pablo Picasso's "Portrait of  
Suzanne Bloch" and Brazilian painter Candido Portinari's "The Coffee  
Worker," worth a combined $55 million.

The paintings were found at a house in the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

Police arrested one of the suspects, Francisco Laerton Lopes de Lima,  
10 days ago and his capture led them to Robson de Jesus Jordao, 32,  
who was taken in to custody on Tuesday.

Police Chief Mauricio Freire said the pair had long criminal records  
and had taken part in previous attempted robberies at the museum.

"It's obvious these two didn't commit the robbery to keep the  
paintings for themselves," Freire told reporters. "The focus of the  
investigation from now on will be to find out who ordered the robbery  
and where they were taking the pictures to."

The thieves broke into the museum before dawn on December 21 and  
grabbed the paintings in three minutes. They used a hydraulic jack to  
force open the main door and a crowbar to smash a glass door.

The museum had no alarm system and none of the paintings were  
insured. However, since the robbery, the museum said it had made a  
series of security improvements, including adding high-definition  
cameras and hiring more guards.

The Picasso portrait of singer Suzanne Bloch was painted in 1904 and  
is considered the last important work of the Spaniard's "Blue  
Period." Portinari's work, painted in 1939 and featuring a laborer on  
a coffee plantation, is one of Brazil's best known paintings.

Sao Paulo Museum of Art president Julio Neves said both paintings  
were recovered in perfect condition.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-01/09/content_6381593.htm