Germany detains man trying to sell back stolen art

BERLIN (Reuters) - A man attempting to sell paintings by Picasso, Monet and other masters back to the Dutch gallery from where they were stolen has been arrested in Germany, German media said.

Thieves made off with seven paintings worth more than 50 million euros from Rotterdam's Kunsthal museum last October in a brazen and meticulously planned operation.

Die Welt newspaper said prosecutors in the western German city of Cologne had confirmed the arrest of a 46-year-old man but said it was unclear whether he was part of the gang or whether he really had access to the stolen paintings.

The prosecutors' office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Romanian authorities arrested three men in January on suspicion of stealing the paintings, which also included works by Matisse, Gauguin, Lucian Freud and Meyer de Haan.

Dutch police earlier this month also arrested the 19-year-old Romanian girlfriend of one of the detained men after combing through security camera footage from the period leading up to the robbery.

Despite the arrests, the paintings have yet to resurface.

(Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Jon Hemming)