There was no lavish ruse with bowler hats or a stylish getaway in Mini Coopers, but art thieves in Italy came away with a score fitting of Hollywood – $17 million in precious artwork.
The caper took place just before close at the Castelvecchio museum in Verona, Italy on November 19 of last year and police have just released video of the perpetrators in action.
Police also said they’ve arrested 12 people suspected of stealing the paintings.
A total of 17 paintings were stolen that included works from Tintoretto, Mantegna and Peter Paul Rubens.
The thieves, who waited for most of the staff to leave, were armed and tied up a cashier before stealing an armed security guard’s car for their getaway.
The theft sparked anger in Italy over a perceived lack of security at the museum with some pointing blame on public spending cuts.
Nine of the suspects were Moldovans arrested in their own country while the other three suspects were Italians from Verona.
A report said the paintings were located in Moldova and are still in the process of being recovered.