Espina: Art thefts to continue if victims won’t approach cops

Following reports about the increasing number of cases of “artnapping”—artwork being stolen from the artists themselves or from galleries—the police have urged victims to come forward and report the robberies so that they can go after the perpetrators.

“This kind of incident has to be reported to us otherwise, it will end up unsolved and worse, these criminals will strike again,” National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Leonardo Espina said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

“This is just like any [car theft] incident. The public should be made aware that a certain car with this plate number has been [stolen],” he added.

By talking to the unwitting buyers of stolen artwork, the police can also find the thieves, Espina said.

“There’s always a market for [art pieces] that’s why criminal groups keep on doing it. This business, although illegal, is based on supply and demand,” he told the INQUIRER.

Espina said that he had ordered Chief Supt. Alex Gutierrez, Manila Police District director, to conduct a thorough investigation and talk to the artists who were victimized by art thieves.

This was after he read an article which came out the other day in the INQUIRER about such cases being on the rise.

The article, in particular, detailed an attempt by two men to rob the studio of sculptor Ramon Orlina in Sampaloc, Manila, last month. The artist told the INQUIRER that he had already lost some of his creations to thieves on several instances, prompting him to install closed circuit television cameras in his atelier.

Other art theft cases have also occurred in galleries in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong and Makati.

Espina said the police would look into the cases, some of which date back to 2005.