Arrests in Rome for Receiving Stolen Spanish Artifacts

The State Police of Rome have detained two South American citizens, aged 42 and 49, on serious suspicion of the crime of receiving stolen goods. Specifically, the officers of the Mobile Squad of the capital, following an investigation, have gathered elements that indicated the possible presence of loot from Spain on the Roman territory. During the observation service, on the morning of April 24, the police tracked the two men entering a bar on Via Casal de Pazzi, with large suitcases in hand and, suspicious of their circumspect attitude, identified and checked them, finding one of the two men in possession of 650 euros in cash; inside one of the two suitcases, they also found three paintings wrapped in cloth and cellophane bags, as well as a metal sculpture equipped with a plaque from which the Spanish origin of the same was evident. Thanks to the collaboration with the Interpol Division of the International Police Cooperation Service, it was ascertained that the artworks found had been removed from foreign territory; in particular, the two paintings titled respectively "Caballo Blanco con carro" and "Puerto de San Sebastian" with a total value of 170 thousand euros, corresponded to those owned by the "Lorenart" art gallery, stolen at the "Miguel Angel" hotel in Madrid in May 2021. The two men were detained for the crime of receiving stolen goods in concert and taken to the Regina Coeli prison. The Rome Prosecutor's Office requested and obtained from the Judge for Preliminary Investigations the validation of the detention and at the same time, custody in prison was ordered for the two men.