Missing 1987 Paintings Recovered in Dutch Police Sting After 22 Years

In 2009, Dutch police recovered eight paintings that vanished in 1987 from Noortman Master Paintings in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The works included Pierre-Auguste Renoir's La Clairière, Camille Pissarro's Bords de la Seine à Bougival, and Jan Brueghel the Younger's Moneys. A Dubai business executive attempted to sell the paintings to the original insurer, which had paid Robert Noortman over 5 million guilders (approximately $2.9 million) after the theft. Private detective Ben Zuidema, hired decades earlier to investigate, was contacted by the executive, who claimed a person paid by Noortman to steal the paintings wanted to broker their return. Zuidema was offered 1 million Euros to facilitate the transaction but instead alerted investigators, leading to a sting operation. Three individuals were arrested during the recovery. Noortman Master Paintings, founded by Robert Noortman, was acquired by Sotheby's in 2006. The paintings had been missing for 22 years before resurfacing in this elaborate scheme.