Kosovar who robbed Picasso's original paintings and sold them for 150 euros will be expelled from Switzerland

Asked about the location of the paintings, he says: “were fakes, I sold 150 euros in the stock market”. He has not discovered his associate, Albanian citizen.

In October 2020, there was a theft at Weinfelden in Thurgau. Two people had entered a villa and were looking for valuables, broadcasting albinfo.ch. But the job did not go as planned: The householder returned home in amazement.

They have acted rapidly and have stuck 80-year-olds. As writes “hurgauer Zeitung”, one of the two has threatened the owner. If he did not show where Picasso's paintings were stored, he would cut off his ear.

After they found what they were looking for, they both left home, leaving the owner tied up. Robbers stole items worth 75,000 CHF.

One of the two, with dual Kosovo and Serbian citizenship, is now standing before the Weinfelden District Court. He was arrested in another theft in December 2021. A trace of DNA had proven its involvement in the theft of Picasso's paintings.

In court he admitted to entering the villa. But he had done so out of necessity: He had lost his savings by playing poker and did not know how to travel to his homeland.

We were afraid of our lives because there were multiple weapons in that house,” he says. That's why he and his friend had been dating the old man. He does not want to disclose the name of his Albanian colleague, otherwise he would be killed.

Asked about the location of the paintings, 37-year-old states: “were fakes, I sold 150 euros in the stock market”.

But the court is not convinced by his statements. Thus, he was sentenced to four and a half years in effective prison. Kosovar has also been subjected to the move of deportation from the country for ten years. It must also pay court expenses and 25680 other francs.