(686) SCOTS LAW NEWS IN DA VINCI MODE
On 4 October 2007, nearly one month after the death of the ninth Duke of Buccleuch, a painting stolen from his home at Drumlanrig Castle in 2003 was recovered by police from the offices of solicitors HBJ Gateley Waring, in West Regent Street, Glasgow. The theft of the painting, Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder, was reported to be the UK’s biggest art crime and was on the FBI list of the top ten art crimes : http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/topten/davinci.htm .
The police operation involved officers from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Strathclyde Police, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency among others. Four of those attending a meeting at HBJ when the painting was recovered were arrested and appeared in Dumfries Sheriff Court on 5 October, charged with conspiracy to rob and extort money. Among those charged was HBJ partner, Calum Jones. A spokesman for the firm said that there was an interesting