Man held in Munch theft investigation

A 38-year-old man was ordered to be jailed for four weeks by the Oslo District Court, in Norway, today, while police investigate his alleged involvement in the theft of Edvard Munch’s masterpieces The Scream and Madonna.

The man, whose name has not been released by police, was arrested on Wednesday at his workplace south of Oslo. After a closed hearing, the court also ruled that the suspect be isolated from other detainees for the first two weeks of his detention, news agency NTB reported.

He is the fourth suspect ordered held in connection with the brazen August 22 daylight robbery.

Police made their first arrest in the case on March 8.

Police have refused to release the suspects’ names or give other details of their investigation and effort to recover the priceless paintings stolen by gunmen from the Munch Museum in Oslo.

Police attorney Morten Hojem Ervik has said the 38-year-old did not participate in the actual robbery, but was thought to be an accomplice to it.

The stolen paintings are among Munch’s best known. The Scream, a 20th-century icon that depicts an anguished figure who appears to be screaming or shielding his ears from a scream, is too recognisable for the thieves to try to sell, experts say.