The theft ⁠of four paintings by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina may have involved organised crime and raised troubling questions about security at a museum in the Sicilian artist’s hometown, a local official said on Monday.

Enzo Caruso, Messina’s councillor for culture, said it was difficult to understand how thieves could have removed the works in a matter of minutes without detailed ‌knowledge of the museum’s layout.

“It’s a very, very strange affair,” Caruso said.

The theft on Saturday at