Folllowing the arrest of an art collector, who has loaned some of his collection to a local museum, the Guardia Civil arrived in Calasparra yesterday to search the Edificio Casa Piñero Musuem in Calle Mayor.
Art collector, Benito Amor, was arrested earlier this week and the investigation of his patrimony is centred on his home in Bullas where a large quantity of property has been seized.
He is known for having one of the largest private art collections in the region, mainly religious artefacts and ecclesiastical objects, as well as antique coins and archeological artifacts.
Calasparra Town Hall created the Benito Amor Foundation in 2011, following an agreement between the collector and the former Mayor of Calasparra, Jesus Navarro.
Under the agreement no ownership was transferred although the art works were “put into the custody” of Calasparra in a fixed exhibition in the recently renovated Casa Piñero.
Although the art works in Calasparra represent only a small part of the patrimony of the arrested art collector their value has been estimated at more than two million euros.
The Mayor of Calasparra has made it clear that the presumption of innocence must be respected but that he has put the musuem and its contents at the disposal of the Guardia Civil for them to continue their investigations.
