DNA clue in Da Vinci painting theft

POLICE hunting thieves who stole a Leonardo da Vinci painting said today that they were analysing DNA retrieved during their investigation.

Detectives also said they were looking at possible connections to "similar art-related" crimes.

Robbers took the Madonna Of The Yarnwinder from Drumlanrig Castle, on the Dumfries-shire estate of the Duke of Buccleuch, in August 2003.

It was later seized by police in October 2007 after a raid on a meeting at a lawyers' office in Glasgow.

Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary confirmed today that it had DNA but refused to reveal more details of the inquiry.

Detective Inspector Gary Coupland, from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary's crime management services, said: "This is very much a live inquiry and a number of lines of inquiry, including DNA analysis, are still being pursued in relation to bringing those who actually took the painting to justice.

"I am still keen to identify two men who were seen on CCTV within Drumlanrig Castle on August 15 2003, which was a week before the painting was stolen, as I believe they may be able to assist with our inquiries."

Thieves posing as tourists took the painting from the castle on August 27 2003. Two years ago the painting was valued at 20 million.

Two men overpowered a young tour guide and grabbed the artwork off the wall. They escaped in a car which was found abandoned three miles away.

In April this year five men were cleared of being involved in a 2007 plot to extort 4.25 million for the return of the stolen painting.

Charges against solicitor Marshall Ronald, 53, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and private investigators Robert Graham, 57, and John Doyle, 61, both from Ormskirk, Lancashire, were found not proven at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Glasgow-based solicitors Calum Jones, 45, and David Boyce, 63, were found not guilty of extortion.

A jury at the High Court, where the trial lasted eight weeks, took eight hours over two days to clear the men.

Last month three other men accused of plotting to extort money for the return of the stolen artwork had the charges against them dropped.

Crown Office officials said it was no longer in the public interest to continue proceedings.

None of those three or the five men acquitted in April were accused of the robbery.

The theft last month of Picasso and Matisse paintings in Paris are not believed to be connected to the Dumfries and Galloway investigation.