A $1.5 million Buddha statue weighing nearly 250 pounds that was stolen from a Southern California gallery has been recovered.
The weighty 4-foot-tall statue was stolen around 4 a.m. Sept. 18 from the Barakat Gallery in the 900 block of North La Cienega Boulevard in the Beverly Grove area. Security camera video showed what appeared to be a rented moving van backing up to the gallery gate.
A faint figure can be seen moving in the darkness.
Details about where the statue was recovered were not available early Thursday.
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The stolen statue depicts a seated Buddha with a halo that was created during Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867), according to the gallery.
A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was arrested in the theft itself.
Anyone with information about the theft was urged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department at 1-877-275-5273.
