Iraqi authorities claimed to have found Picasso “worth millions of dollars” during a drug raid on Saturday in Diyala province, central Baghdad.
The authorities said that the alleged Picasso was in the possession of three suspects who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the drug trade and transport.
“A painting by the international painter Picasso was seized in their possession,” Colonel Bilal Sobhi, Director of the Media Office for Narcotics Control, said in a statement. Iraqi News Agency.
Sobhi added that the raid was part of Greater crackdown on drug smuggling which started in July. He pointed out that the authorities arrested 1,300 suspects and seized “44 kilograms of narcotics” and “37 kilograms of stimulants, including crystal,” since the operation began.
Pictures of the artwork and details of its condition have not been released, and according to The National, the authenticity of the painting has yet to be verified. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior has not yet announced whether any prominent artworks or cultural artifacts were discovered during the raids.
Sobhi said that raids to “reduce drug trade, promotion and use” are “ongoing” and target cafes and other sites “where young people gather.”
Sobhi explained that the drug trade “is linked to many crimes, including murder, theft, kidnapping, rape, gang formation, corruption and family disintegration, until it reaches the antiquities trade.”
[ad_2]
