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Van Gogh theft 'an inside job'
Source: Agencies |
September 28, 2010, Tuesday
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THE theft of a US$50 million Vincent van Gogh painting from an Egyptian museum last month was an inside job, Egypt's top police official said in an interview published yesterday.
Interior Minister Habib el-Adly said the circumstances surrounding the theft of "Poppy Flower" from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum showed that staff at the museum must have stolen it themselves or been involved in the theft.
"The lesson learned from the robbery is a severe one that forces the review of all security measures in the places that hold the treasures of Egyptian civilization," el-Adly told the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper.
The minister said the search for the painting continued with the aid of Interpol and security specialists from other Arab countries.
The painting was stolen in the middle of the day from the museum, where investigators found that no alarms and only seven of 43 security cameras were working. The thieves used a box cutter to slice the painting from its frame.
Eleven Culture Ministry officials were formally charged over last month's theft and have been referred for trial on charges of negligence and harming state property.
Interior Minister Habib el-Adly said the circumstances surrounding the theft of "Poppy Flower" from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum showed that staff at the museum must have stolen it themselves or been involved in the theft.
"The lesson learned from the robbery is a severe one that forces the review of all security measures in the places that hold the treasures of Egyptian civilization," el-Adly told the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper.
The minister said the search for the painting continued with the aid of Interpol and security specialists from other Arab countries.
The painting was stolen in the middle of the day from the museum, where investigators found that no alarms and only seven of 43 security cameras were working. The thieves used a box cutter to slice the painting from its frame.
Eleven Culture Ministry officials were formally charged over last month's theft and have been referred for trial on charges of negligence and harming state property.
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