Brazilian police recovered two stolen paintings, including a valuable Picasso , and arrested two suspects yesterday , 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 Blochand Brazilian painter Candido Portinari's The Coffee Worker, worth a combined €40 million.
Police officers stand guard next to the Portrait of Suzanne Bloch by Pablo Picass (L) and Candido Portinairi's The Coffee Worker in Sao Paulo
The paintings were found undamaged at a house in the outskirts of Sao Paulo.
Police arrested one of the suspects ten days ago and his capture led them to the second man, who was taken in to custody last night.
Police said the pair had long criminal records and had taken part in previous attempted robberies at the museum.
The thieves broke into the museum before dawn on December 21st 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.