Saturday, May 22, 2010

5 Major Artworks Stolen in Paris

Illicit Cultural Property has a post about the theft of 5 important works of art from the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris.
The value estimates are very rough, ranging already from 100-500 million Euro. Yet these works can never be sold in a legitimate market, so in one sense their market value means little.

Apparently, the gallery's alarm system was not working.

They also have a followup post on the reaction to the theft.

Much later followup: Three people have been arrested in the theft.
More: They claim to have thrown the paintings in the trash.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Thieves steal $75 million of pharmaceuticals

The Wall Street Journal has an article about some thieves who broke in to a drug warehouse and stole $75 million worth of drugs.

Brazen thieves cut a hole in a roof, slid down a rope and made off with $75 million in drugs from an Eli Lilly & Co warehouse in Connecticut during the weekend in one of the biggest pharmaceutical heists ever.

Working as if in an elaborate caper flick, the thieves disabled the interior alarm system and spent hours inside an Enfield, Conn., warehouse that stored antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs. Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza said the burglars likely loaded the dozens of wooden crates of prescription pills onto a tractor-trailer.

I was surprised at the value of what is essentially a warehouse robbery. I suppose you would need connections in order to unload the drugs.