Sabotage at

the museum

Fake works of art pollute the legitimate market. The problem of the enormous amount of forgeries flooding into the market is an extremely complex phenomenon, and disrupting networks involved in it requires a high level of expertise.

“We are witnessing an alarming increase in the traffic of fake cultural objects”

Corrado CatesiHead of INTERPOL’s programme against cultural heritage crimes

Background

Theft and counterfeiting works of art constitutes the third greatest factor after drugs and arms sales which most increases the benefits of smuggling.

There is an international network dedicated to counterfeiting works of art that in turn manages drug smuggling, the illegal sale of weapons and the theft of cars. The latest investigations reveal that this criminal network has active cells in various countries and that they act in coordination. The modus operandi used by these cells for the theft of works of art is the same. They focus on the theft and falsification of famous medium-sized sculptures that are exhibited in major museums. They scan selected sculptures in 3D and then replicate them and exchange them for the original ones. They then sell them on the black market or ask for a ransom for them.

Following the arrest of several suspects in museums in Ajmer (India), Bilbao (Spain), Helsinki (Finland), Kent Town (Adelaida, Australia), Leon (Mexico), Milan (Italy), Nantes (France), Varsaw (Poland) and Southridge (Manila, Philippines) the international plot of this criminal network has been exposed. Although the detainees deny their involvement, the scientific police have collected evidence at the crime scenes for analysis.

The crime

The police emergency centre received a call from a neighbour reporting that around 7:30am two individuals from the municipal cleaning staff came out of the museum somewhat hastily with a plastic bag containing something heavy. The neighbour reported that one of them deposited the bag in one of the bins next to the museum and left. The other individual, after making a call with his mobile phone, went in another direction.

The neighbour observed from his window that very inside the museum close to the main door there was a something on the floor. It looked like it could be a person lying down.

When two police officers arrived they found the museum door open and an unconscious security guard on the ground. The guard was beginning to recover.  The agents noticed that there was a peson near the bins in the park.  Officers observed the person removing a plastic bag that contained something heavy. The bag was inspected and found to contain a sculpture, most likely stolen from the museum.

The individual told officers that they had found the bag and knew nothing of its contents. In the place where the sculpture was expected to be there was another identical sculpture.

Crime scene assessment report

Shoe prints

Evidence 9

Shoe prints Database

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Fingerprints

Fingerprints on the window

Evidence 13.1

 

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Evidence 13.4


Evidence 13.5

 

Fingerprints on the can

 

 

 

 

 

Fingerprints Database

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Genetic profile

Cigarete end

Blood and screwdriver

Genetic profile Database

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 9:05 on September the 28th, 2021, scientific police officers from the Ertzaintza with professional numbers:  03125, 17362, 18272, 21726, 22827, 32736, 35736 and 37191 formed a team in order to carry out the following procedure with reference number 5781H127421 for an alleged crime of theft of a work of art. Reporting at the entrance to the Museum, located in the municipality of Bilbao, in the historical territory of Bizkaia, to carry out an inspection of the crime scene according to the current Preliminary Scene Survey procedure.

Crime Scene Photos

Evidence 1

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Evidence 9

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Evidence 13

Evidence 14