French Police Find €12 Million Picasso in Drug Raid, Arresting 37-Year-Old Suspect

3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 23

A Picasso portrait believed to date from 1937 was found during a narcotics raid at a home in Ormesson-sur-Marne, where police arrested a 37-year-old man.
French authorities authenticated the canvas but have not publicly identified it; media reports value it at €12 million to €15 million and link it to Picasso’s Marie-Thérèse Walter series.
Investigators believe the suspect worked as a security guard for an art storage firm and admitted taking the painting, saying he wanted to expose security flaws there.
The work was reportedly being stored for a private owner identified by Le Parisien as a Singaporean woman, and the suspect has been charged with theft and drug offenses while his lawyer denies the allegations.