OSLO, Norway, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The mastermind behind Norway's biggest armed robbery ever is offering to broker the return of two famous paintings by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.
The newspaper Aftenposten is reporting that David Toska, in exchange for a lesser sentence, says he can get the venerable paintings "Scream" and "Madonna" returned to Oslo's Munch Museum where they were stolen two years ago.
The report said police figure the paintings were stolen to divert attention away from the huge commando-style robbery at the NOKAS currency depot in Stavanger; a police officer was killed in the ensuing gun battle on the street.
Toska has confessed to that crime although he was never charged with the theft of the paintings, Aftenposten said.
The painting, "Scream," also known as "The Cry," is an icon of existential anguish, and museum officials feared they might never see the work again.
