Polish police recover stolen Auschwitz sign

Warsaw: Polish police have recovered the infamous Nazi sign stolen from the former Auschwitz death camp cut into three pieces, and said Monday it appeared to have been taken by common criminals seeking profit.

Five men were arrested late on Sunday after the damaged "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Sets You Free") sign was found near one of their homes in a snowy forest outside Czernikowo, a village near the northern Polish city of Torun, on the other side of the country from the memorial site.

The brazen theft of one of the Holocaust's most chilling symbols sparked worldwide outrage. Polish leaders launched an intensive search for the 5-metre sign that spanned the main gate of the camp in southern Poland where more than 1 million people, were killed during the Second World War.

The men's arrest late on Sunday came after more than 100 tips, said Andrzej Rokita, the chief police investigator in the case.

Police said it was too soon to say what the motive for the theft was but they are investigating whether the Nazi memorabilia market may have played a part. The suspects do not have known neo-Nazi or other far-right links, Rokita said. "Robbery and material gain are considered one of the main possible motives, but whether that was done on someone's order will be determined in the process of the investigation," added deputy investigator Marek Wozniczka.

The suspects have not been identified publicly, but Rokita said they were between the ages of 20 and 39 and that their past offences were "either against property or against health and life", implying that at least one of them has a record.