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French police searching a house near Paris as part of a drug trafficking investigation discovered an authenticated Pablo Picasso painting, prosecutors said Saturday.
The discovery was made during a raid in Champigny-sur-Marne, a town east of Paris, according to reports citing the Creteil public prosecutor’s office.
“This discovery was made during a search carried out as part of an investigation into drug trafficking,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened into theft and dealing in stolen goods after the painting was found.
The artwork was later authenticated as a work by the Spanish painter, but prosecutors did not specify which painting it was.
According to Le Parisien, which first reported the case, investigators searched Monday at a house in Champigny-sur-Marne.
As well as the Picasso painting, police seized cannabis resin, luxury clothing and several thousand euros in cash, the newspaper said.
A source close to the case said investigators initially launched the operation as part of a drug trafficking inquiry.
During a search at the house, police seized around 20 kilograms of cannabis resin, according to the same source.
Police also recovered luxury-brand clothing worth several hundred thousand euros and €7,000 in cash.
TF1info, citing several sources, said investigators from the Val-de-Marne judicial police were assisted by officers from the BRI, the search and intervention brigade.
The Alliance Police Nationale union said on social media that the work had been stolen from a storage site in Paris without giving a date.
The union also said the painting was estimated to be worth several tens of millions of euros.
The Creteil prosecutor’s office did not give the name, estimated value, provenance or current location of the recovered painting.
The Creteil prosecutor’s office said the Val-de-Marne judicial police had been assigned to investigate theft and receiving stolen goods following the discovery.
Le Parisien reported that the painting may depict Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s muse.
Another report said the possibility that it could be “Pigeon with Peas,” a painting stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris during a major burglary in 2010, was considered unlikely.
The investigation into theft and receiving stolen goods was assigned to the Val-de-Marne judicial police.
On Friday, four people were brought before a court for an immediate hearing in connection with the drug trafficking case, the Creteil prosecutor’s office said.
A source close to the case said six people in total had been arrested.
The operations extended to several municipalities, including Ormesson-sur-Marne, Les Pavillons-sous-Bois and Bobigny.
Three suspects were placed in pretrial detention, according to a judicial source.
A fourth suspect was released and is set to be tried in August, while two others were left free.
Alliance Police Nationale congratulated investigators from SDPJ 94 and BRI-PP over the case, praising what it called the professionalism, commitment, and determination of all personnel involved.
The investigations are continuing.
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