Oslo
Norwegian police this week arrested nine people for stealing three works by Edvard Munch, in what is becoming a trend. Munchs masterpiece The Scream was stolen last year by armed, masked robbers who burst into a museum and ripped the painting off a wall, in front of terrified tourists. The robbery this week was less sophisticated. The thieves, without masks, broke into a hotel and grabbed the watercolor Blue Dress and two lithographs. Witnesses easily identified them, and the artwork was recovered. Police said it was unlikely that the two heists were linked. The Scream is valued at $75 million, Blue Dress at around $160,000.