ALBAWABA - During a run-of-the-mill drug raid, French police stumbled upon an authentic Picasso painting valued at $17 million.
The painting was found on June 15 after a routine search of a house owned by the aunt of a suspected drug dealer, the police have not divulged which of the famous’ painter’s paintings they found though French newspaper Le Parisien reported that it is one of Picasso’s portraits of his mistress, produced in 1937.
The suspect who was arrested, a 37-year-old who worked as a guard at a firm that stores valuable art said that he stole the painting “seeking to demonstrate security flaws within the company” - the painting was held for a Singaporean woman who owned the piece, according to the police union.
That excuse didn’t fly, however, as the man has been charged with theft and involvement in drug dealing after police had further found 17kg of cannabis and $229,000 worth of designer clothes.
Three more people have been arrested in relation to the case and have appeared in court for an initial hearing, with a formal trial set to begin against the defendants in August.
