Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told the Boston Herald that he's been in touch with the IRA, following up on one theory that 13 priceless paintings stolen in the world's biggest art heist have been hidden in Ireland for 3 decades. 

The March 1990 crime left the world without the masterpieces lifted by thieves from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, including Vermeer’s “The Concert” and Rembrandt’s only seascape, “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”

While the FBI has long suspected the involvement of Connecticut mobster Robert Gentile, the 82-year-old hasn't provided any details and was released from prison last month. Now that notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger is dead, along with other persons of interest, the IRA is the theory that Brand is sticking with. 

“At the time of the theft, the IRA was running guns from Boston to Ireland with and without Bulger’s knowledge,” Brand said to the Herald. “The paintings were hidden on one of the vessels and they would remain in Ireland today.”

The museum has offered a $10 million reward for the paintings' return.