Civil police arrested this Thursday (18) a second suspect involved in the theft of works of art from the Mário de Andrade library, in the center of São Paulo, on Sunday (7).
He was temporarily detained for 30 days by the courts.
The investigation is based on the hypothesis that the detainee helped those responsible for the robbery to escape. One of them, Felipe dos Santos Fernandes Quadra, 31, is in prison. The other man who entered the library is still being sought.
Police said they would not release further details about the arrest so as not to hinder the investigation.
The men were identified using security cameras from Smart Sampa, the town hall’s surveillance program.
Quadra was arrested on Monday (8) during an occupation in Mooca, east of São Paulo. Police are still trying to recover the stolen items.
In total, 13 works of art were recovered: eight engravings by Henri Matisse from the book “Jazz” and five by Candido Portinari which illustrate the work “Menino de Engenho”, by José Lins do Rego, published in 1959 by the Sociedade dos Cem Bibliófilos do Brasil.
The stolen works were part of the exhibition “From Book to Museum: MAM São Paulo and the Mário de Andrade Library”, which addresses the formation of modern art in Brazil, with free entry and scheduled to close this Sunday.
According to lawyer Glória Oliveira, Quadra is a drug user. She said she had not yet been able to speak to him, but confirmed that her client appeared in the footage.
She was unable to say who ordered the items or whether Quadra had received payment.
The lawyer also said Quadra did not keep the images, which were allegedly taken by someone else.
The case is being investigated by the 1st Cerco (Specialized Center for the Repression of Crimes and Miscellaneous Facts).
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