Spanish police have arrested a man after recovering a stolen statue of late golfer Seve Ballesteros.

A statue of the late golfer Seve Ballesteros that went missing from his hometown of Pedrena in Spain’s northern Cantabria region was found chopped into pieces with alleged thieves preparing to sell it for bronze, police said.

The statue was found in a storage room in Santander and is worth around €30,000 ($35,820)​ but holds great emotional significance for locals and fans. It is cut in half at the waist.

While the torso and head were intact, the arms were broken into several pieces.

A 22-year-old man with a criminal record for copper theft was arrested on Thursday, police revealed on Friday, adding that more people may be involved.

Police focused their investigation on the metal trading center, where they suspected the thieves planned to sell the bronze for profit.

The 100-kilogram (220.46-pound) statue depicting Ballesteros in his iconic pose celebrating his 1984 British Open victory at St. Andrews, Scotland, was torn from its base at La Barqueria Park earlier this month before being dragged across the grass and dismembered for transport.

It was created in 2009 by sculptor Salvador Garcia Ceballos and permanently installed in Pedrena in 2017.

Ballesteros, who won five major championships during his career and became a fan favorite for his ability to get out of trouble on the golf course, died in 2011 at the age of 54 after a battle with cancer.