Alleged multi-million dollar Picasso found during drug raid
<p dir="ltr">Authorities in Iraq claim to have unearthed an original Picasso painting “worth millions of dollars” during a routine drug raid in the Diyala, a central province east of Baghdad.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The alleged Picasso was in the possession of three suspects who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the trade and transport of narcotics, authorities said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“A painting belonging to the international painter Picasso was seized in their possession,” the director of the anti-narcotics media office, Colonel Bilal Sobhi, said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Images of the artwork and details of its condition have not been disclosed, and according to the National, the painting has yet to be authenticated. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The Iraqi Ministry of Interior has also yet to share if any other notable artworks or cultural artefacts were discovered during the raids.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Colonel Sobhi said that the raid was part of a larger country-wide crackdown on the illicit drug trade that began earlier this year. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Since the operation began, authorities claim they have arrested 1,300 suspects and seized “44kg of narcotic substances” as well as “37kg of stimulants, including crystal”.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>
