In just two burglaries – carried out on August 28 and September 9, 2024 – not four works were stolen, contrary to what the Alpes-Maritimes Interdepartmental Police Department (DIPN) had communicated, but no less of seventy!
All of the pieces, created by the artist Laurence Jenkell, were “in a warehouse located in Vallauris, used for the manufacture of said works”, recalls the Grasse prosecutor’s office.
The damage from this raid, initially estimated at 1.3 million euros, ultimately increased by at least 200,000 euros, bringing the total to “plus” 1.5 million. An estimate which could still evolve, according to the prosecution.
Two individuals still implicated
The preliminary investigation carried out by the local judicial police service at the Antibes police station led to the arrest of four individuals. Faced with this trafficking in works of art, all were placed in police custody between October 7 and 9.
The stolen works were found “in an apartment in Antibes”, where they were intended for resale.
“At the end of the hearings, specifies the prosecutor’s office, two people were exonerated, and two others were referred to the Grasse prosecutor’s office (a 46-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman) with a view to opening of a judicial investigation for organized theft.”
Pending developments in the investigation, the first was placed in pre-trial detention and the second under judicial supervision.
1. Neither Laurence Jenkell nor her press officer wished to respond to our requests.
