Art Heists Not So Glamorous

A Group of Seven painting has gone missing.

Art heists are nothing like found in the movies. From the Vancouver Sun (link above):

"...Ton Cremers, a security consultant for some the world's museums, libraries and galleries, said the illicit art trade is worth $7.8 billion annually — ranking it third behind the drugs and arms trade, which is worth $100 billion.

"It's never like the movies," said Cremers, explaining he's never come across a case in which master thieves are commissioned by collectors to steal prized artwork. The majority of cases in museums, he says, are long-serving internal staff like curators or librarians, who have vast knowledge of the work commissioned for their galleries and museums..."

"...In your country, it's illegal to own stolen property, but it's different in Europe," said Cremers, who explained that complex statutes in Europe can allow a thief to own the work after a number of decades and that less than 10 per cent of stolen art is recovered.

However, thieves can still make a killing if they decide to come forward to return the piece at a ransom price negotiated with lawyers for insurance companies..."