Eight artworks stolen from a top gallery in Maastricht 22 years ago have been recovered in the Netherlands in a sting operation, the Times of London reports.

The works, by Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Eva Gonzales, David Teniers, Willem van de Velde, Jr., Jan Brueghel the Younger, and Paul Desiré Trouillebert, were stolen from Noortman Gallery in Maastricht in 1987. An investigation into their whereabouts proved unsuccessful, and an insurance payout of £2 million ($2.8 million) was made to the gallery owner, Robert Noortman.

In December, a private detective who had originally investigated the case was contacted with an offer: An alleged middleman in Dubai wanted to sell the works back to the insurance company for €5 million ($4.5 million). The detective, Ben Zuidema, passed the information on to the investigators, and together they arranged the sting.

The eight works were recovered by Dutch police in two different towns in the south of the country. Zuidema told police he believes a ninth work that was also part of the original robbery had been destroyed by Noortman, who had been a suspect in the case before his death two years ago.

Three suspects have been arrested: a 45-year-old German man who lives in Dubai, his 62-year-old mother from Belgium, and a 66-year-old man from Walem. They were due to appear in court today. The works are expected to be sold and the proceeds to go to the insurance company.