Police release pictures of Rotterdam art heist

October 19, 2012 | Modified: October 19, 2012 at 4:03 pm
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This photo released by the police in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, shows a video still from a security camera showing perpetrators entering the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam early Tuesday morning Oct. 16, 2012. Seven paintings were stolen from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam include one by Pablo Picasso, one by Henri Matisse, and two by Claude Monet. The heist, one of the largest in years in the Netherlands, occurred while the private Triton Foundation collection was being exhibited publicly as a group for the first time. (AP Photo/Police Rotterdam)

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Police hunting for the thieves who broke into a Rotterdam art gallery and snatched seven paintings worth millions are releasing security camera footage of the heist in a bid to gather more tips.

But don't expect to see the thieves' faces.

Detectives said in a statement Friday "the perpetrators are not recognizable in the images" but they hope members of the public may recognize the bags they were carrying.

Three dark, grainy stills posted on a police website show the thieves apparently walking out of the gallery's rear door.

The thieves broke into the Kunsthal gallery in Rotterdam early Tuesday morning and fled with paintings by artists including Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Henri Matisse.