MADRID (AP) – Spanish police say they have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in stealing five paintings by the Irish-born painter Francis Bacon worth 25 million euros ($27.8 million).

The artworks’ owner reported the robbery of the paintings and other valuables to the police in July, and none of the paintings has yet been recovered.

Investigators in February received information from a British firm that had received a request to verify the provenance of some art.

Photographs of Bacon canvases were included for assessment and these led to the arrest of the suspects.

Bacon often visited Madrid, where he spent time studying old master paintings in the Prado Museum, and died here in 1992 aged 82.

Saturday’s statement did not say when the arrests were made, and the investigation is continuing.

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AP-WF-05-28-16 1043GMT