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Police Use Vehicle Tracking To Foil $4.7 Million Renoir Heist On The French Riveria

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Despite what Hollywood movies and some police departments would have you believe, deadly car chases are far from the only way to thwart multi-million-dollar heists. French investigators used DNA evidence and vehicle tracking to recover two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, valued at $4.7 million, that were stolen in a brazen burglary in the South of France in September. Authorities also arrested six people allegedly tied to the heist. One suspected thief led police to his co-conspirators by simply driving to their homes.

As if ripped from the silver screen, our scene opens in the picturesque Nice suburb of Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera. The town hosts the Musée Renoir, a small gallery on the famed impressionist's hilltop farmhouse estate. On the morning of September 8, two thieves gained entry by cutting through the museum fence with an electric saw. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the duo then used the saw to slice off the bolts holding four paintings in place. All four works were on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

This article is an excerpt. To read the full content, visit the original source. Jalopnik

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