Final suspect in heist of Matisse, Picasso and Monet paintings arrested in Britain

BUCHAREST, Romania – British police have arrested the final suspect in the theft of paintings by Matisse, Picasso and Monet from a Dutch museum.

In a statement Friday, prosecutors said Adrian Procop, one of two thieves who allegedly carried out the heist at Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum in October 2012, was arrested Thursday in Britain.

British police confirmed that Procop appeared at London’s Westminster Magistrate’s Court and has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance, set for Dec. 13.

London’s Metropolitan Police said Procop was originally arrested for allegedly possessing a false identity document. He was arrested again on a European warrant issued by Romanian authorities for suspicion of professional theft relating to the paintings.

Two other suspects, Radu Dogaru and Eugen Darie, were found guilty of theft and belonging to a criminal organization and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison by a Bucharest court last month. Darie transported the stolen paintings to Romania.

Trial resumes Dec. 3 for Olga Dogaru, Radu’s mother, and two others. Olga Dogaru told prosecutors she burned the seven paintings worth 18 million euros ($24.6 million) but later retracted that statement.