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CRIME

Forger gang busted for selling fake Picassos

Austrian police said Monday that they have busted a gang allegedly trying to sell off forgeries of famous artists such as Pablo Picasso for millions of euros (dollars).

Published: 7 November 2016 19:44 CET
Forger gang busted for selling fake Picassos
Photo: Picasso's Guernica

The six men were arrested in a hotel room near Vienna airport as they tried to pass off five Picasso paintings for 50 million euros ($55 million), police said.

The buyer was in fact a police officer in disguise. Police commandos arrested the five Austrians and one Slovenian “in case they were armed,” a statement said.

Subsequent raids in homes and cars found 14 fakes complete with forged artists' signatures and counterfeit certificates of authenticity signed by Picasso's son.


Counterfeit “El Greco”.  Photo: Austrian Police

Police also recovered 66 other works purported to be by 40 famous artists including Claude Monet and Gustav Klimt at the home of the Slovenian suspect.

The arrests took place earlier this year but were only announced on Monday.

The men, now on bail, said they believed the works were genuine, police said.

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CRIME

Danish neighbourhood watches keep Christmas burglaries in check

The number of burglaries reported in Denmark this Christmas remained at the historic lows seen in 2022, with the country's Crime Prevention Council giving credit to its neighbourhood watch app.

Published: 3 January 2024 17:00 CET
Danish neighbourhood watches keep Christmas burglaries in check

Just 660 burglaries were reported between December 19th 2023 and January 1st 2024, more or less level with the 559 recorded the previous year. 

This is a historically low level, with 1,343 burglaries reported over Christmas as recently as 2019, with the Nabohjælp app, a joint venture between the Crime Prevention Council and TrygFonden perhaps playing a role.  

“There are many indications that the Danes have become very good at helping their neighbors during the holidays and also tricking burglars into thinking that someone is home in the many houses that have been empty during the Christmas holidays,” Julie Kofoed, communications consultant for Nabohjælp, said in a press release. 

“Nabohjælp is about cooperation between neighbours, so that you make sure that each other’s homes are always kept an eye on.”

The app, which was launched by the Crime Prevention Council, together with the insurance company TrygFonden, has been downloaded by 270,000 people in Denmark, and its spin-off Nabovenner, or “neighbour friends”, numbers as many as 1,000 volunteers, who run networks of Nabohjælpere, or “neighbourhood helpers” in their areas. 

“Neighbor friends are enthusiasts who promote neighborly assistance where they live,” Kofoed said. “We are convinced that Neighbor Friends play a decisive role in getting the neighborhood helpers activated, around the whole of Denmark and especially in the areas plagued by burglaries.” 

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