Ancient coins, archaeological pieces, ceramic objects, ancient weapons: 19,000 stolen objects were found during a vast international operation against the traffic in works of art and antiques carried out in 103 countries, announced this Wednesday Interpol. One hundred and one people were also arrested.
#NEWS: Huge crackdown on #art trafficking by @INTERPOL_HQ, @WCO_OMD, @Europol and @guardiacivil.
More than 19,000 stolen artefacts were recovered, including coins, fossils, paintings, historical weapons & archaeological objectss.https: //t.co/a0kGH4YRmV
The objects seized come "from looting in countries hit by war or even stolen from museums and archaeological sites", explains in a press release the organization of international police cooperation, based in Lyon. Tools used by traffickers, such as metal detectors, were also discovered.
Objects sold online
The seizures, which led to the opening of 300 investigations, are the result of two simultaneous operations carried out last fall: "Athena II", led by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Interpol, and "Pandora IV ”, focused on Europe and coordinated by Europol and the Spanish Guardia Civil. In Madrid, in particular, "some extremely rare pre-Columbian objects" were found, such as a gold Tumaco mask. The Argentine Federal Police, for its part, recovered 2,500 old coins.
28% of all seizures relate to items sold online. "The illicit online markets are one of the main vectors of this type of crime," said Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO. "This is by no means a glamorous activity carried out by elegant gentlemen forgers but rather acts of delinquency sponsored by international criminal networks," noted Catherine de Bolle, executive director of Europol.
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