It didn’t take long for the Cannes police to recover 6 stolen Picassos worth more than 100,000 euros.
On the night of October 1 to 2, 2026, two individuals broke into a restaurant located in the old village of Mougins, near Cannes. A third individual was waiting in a getaway car. The two thieves took down six original engravings by the artist Pablo Picasso and fled.
Investigators from the Cannes Research Brigade (B.R.) quickly retraced the route of the criminals. The investigations, carried out over a month thanks to cross-checking, shadowing and surveillance, identified and located not only the three direct perpetrators, but also the receivers and accomplices who had provided logistical support.
Organized crime network
The suspects include members of organized crime networks known for the possession and use of firearms. The investigators also linked this case to a vehicle theft committed a few months earlier in the Alpes-Maritimes.
On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, a vast judicial police operation was launched in several points in the Alpes-Maritimes department, allowing the arrest of seven suspects. The six works by Pablo Picasso were found in perfect condition and returned.
“This operation demonstrates the strong mobilization of the gendarmes of the Alpes-Maritimes in a national context of increased attacks on cultural property,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Plaidy, commander of the Departmental Gendarmerie Company (CGD) of Cannes, during a press conference on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
(ML. Source: Gendinfo. Photo (c) Darya Sannikova / Pexels)
