In a dramatic turn of events, police arrested a 23-year-old man on Tuesday, suspected of involvement in a failed art heist at a gallery in the southern Netherlands. The brazen attempt targeted four valuable Andy Warhol screenprints.
The arrest follows a chaotic scene last week when thieves detonated explosives to breach the door of an art gallery in Oisterwijk. They made off with two works from Warhol’s renowned series depicting former queens of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). However, in their hurried escape, the thieves abandoned two additional prints, leaving them badly damaged on the street.
In a concise statement, the police did not confirm whether the stolen artworks were recovered during multiple raids conducted in Oisterwijk and surrounding areas, extending into Belgium. A police spokeswoman declined to provide further details.
Mark Peet Visser, the gallery owner, confirmed that the missing artworks had not yet been found. He also mentioned that a restorer is currently evaluating the extent of the damage to the two prints left behind.
Visser previously disclosed that surveillance footage of the heist revealed the prints were “damaged beyond repair” by what he referred to as “amateurish” thieves. According to him, the culprits had to abandon two prints because they couldn’t fit them into their getaway car.
The suspect, whose identity remains confidential in accordance with Dutch privacy laws, was apprehended in Berkel-Enschot, a mere six kilometers (four miles) from Oisterwijk.
