Purported Picasso worth 6 mln euros seized in Bayburt

BAYBURT

Gendarmerie teams in the northeastern province of Bayburt have seized a purported Pablo Picasso artwork worth 6 million euros during an operation aimed at combating the trafficking of historical artifacts and unauthorized excavations.

While an investigation has been launched to ascertain the authenticity of the nude painting, local media reported that the artwork was a replica of Andrei Frantsevich Belloli’s "The Bather.”

The operation set out after teams were informed that the items discovered in the country’s eastern and southeastern Anatolia regions were being readied for sale in western provinces and that some would be transported overseas.

The teams conducted operations in 14 of the country’s 81 provinces, targeting designated homes, cars and offices.

A total of 3,072 Ottoman coins, 178 Eastern Roman and Byzantine coins, estimated to be around a thousand years old, and other historical items were also found during the searches carried out as part of the operation.

This comprehensive operation resulted in the arrest of a total of 21 suspects. Of the accused, two were freed under judicial supervision, while 19 were released after providing testimony to the gendarmerie.