Over 100 artifacts stolen in 1990’s recovered, LAPD searching for rightful owners
LOS ANGELES (FOX 11) - Detectives have recovered several expensive artworks that were stolen from Los Angeles area homes in the early 1990’s.
Officials are now urging people to come forward if they believe the stolen items might belong to them.
The investigation, dubbed "Operation Demetra,'' began in June after an art dealer in Los Angeles contacted the Los Angeles Police Department to report that someone had provided the business with possible stolen items, including two Picasso paintings, the LAPD reported.
According to police some of the items were stolen from homes in the west San Fernando Valley and in the Hollywood Hills area.
“[They] hand picked some art and personal property, as well as artifacts, which some are here today,” said LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza of the Commercial Crimes Division.
Two people were arrested earlier in connection to the burglaries but no stolen items were recovered. The detectives who had originally investigated the burglaries in the 1990's began a new investigation which later led to the service of search warrants in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the recovery of the items.
"We recovered over 100 items, some that we have verified are stolen, and most which were believed to have been stolen during that time,'' said Capt. Carranza. "We would like the media's help and the public's assistance (in) helping us identify the rightful owners so we can return these items to them.''
Investigators were working with experts from the unidentified art business and the Getty Museum to identify the pieces, the artists who created them, and their current worth. Some of the stolen items include pistols.
The items can be viewed at www.foundbylapd.smugmug.com under "Operation Demetra.''
FOX 11’s Alexi Chidbachian contributed to this report