A Dutch court has sentenced a thief for eight years for stealing valuable paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Frans Hals.
Aged 59 years, the man was convicted of theft from two small Dutch museums in 2020.
However, neither of the paintings, worth several million euros each, have been recovered.
The paintings included the Van Gogh painting “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” from the Singer Laren museum.
A few months later, the thief snatched “Two Laughing Boys” by Hals from the Museum Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden.
The Central Netherlands Court said that the Hals painting alone was valued at €16 million euros.
Both artworks were described by the court as “part of the national cultural heritage, they are important for present and future generations”.
The 59-year-old suspect was arrested in April this year in Baarn, around ten kilometres from the Singer Laren museum.
He had broken into both museums at night and fled on a motorised scooter, which was driven by an accomplice.
The unnamed thief denied involvement but DNA found in both crime scenes.
The suspect, who has previously been convicted for a similar art heist, denied involvement.
Authorities found his DNA at both crime scenes.
