Works by Picasso and others stolen in Spain

Thieves in Spain stole a truck containing about 20 works of art, including at least one by Pablo Picasso, worth at least five million euros, officials and reports said Thursday.

The works were to be delivered to galleries in Madrid and Barcelona after being on display at an exhibition in Germany, reports said.

Three masked men stole the parked truck a week ago in an industrial zone in Getafe on Madrid’s southern outskirts, Getafe town councillor Sara Hernandez told a news conference.

“The way it was carried out leads us to believe that there was inside information that facilitated the theft of this truck because they had plenty of information regarding when it arrived, when it would leave to distribute art to other cities and galleries, where the truck was,” she said.

A police spokesman refused to confirm details of the theft, only saying an investigation was underway.

Ms Hernandez and police would not say exactly what art was stolen.But the online edition of the daily newspaper El Pais and other media said the haul included at least one drawing by Picasso as well as works by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida and Catalan artist Antoni Tapies.

Many of the stolen works were not insured, said David Fernandez Braso, the owner of the Juan Gris gallery which was due to receive a shipment of art from the stolen truck. “I am very concerned, upset and angry,” he told Telemadrid television. “In our gallery, in my 40 years of experience, nothing like this has ever happened. But during this really tough time, many galleries do not insure their works, which is awful.”