Six jailed in Spain for selling fakes of Goya and other artists online

Valencia police seized 27 paintings by various artists being sold for 1.2m, 18 of which were crude forgeries

Six people have been jailed in the eastern Spanish region of Valencia after police broke up a criminal gang that was using the internet to sell crudely forged paintings attributed to artists including Francisco de Goya, Jose Benlliure y Gil and Nicolas Falco.

The investigation, carried out by officers from the historical heritage group of the Valencian police, began when doubts arose over the provenance of Falco's The Adoration of the Three Wise Men, which had been bought for 18,000 (15,000) and was being resold for 45,000.