Two huge international police operations targeting the trade in stolen artworks and archaeological artifacts in 103 countries have led to the arrest of 101 people and the recovery of more than 19,000 items, including a pre-Columbian gold mask, a carved Roman lion and thousands of ancient coins, according to The Guardian.
The smuggled artifacts include ancient coins, archaeological objects, and historical weapons "looted from war-stricken countries, as well as works stolen from museums and archaeological sites," according to a statement released by the INTERPOL, based in the French city of Lyon. Facilitating objects used by the smugglers, such as metal detectors were also seized.
According to AFP, these results were achieved during two global operations: ATHENA II, led by the World Customs Organization (WCO), and INTERPOL, which was carried out in synchronization with the Europe-focused Operation PANDORA IV coordinated by the Spanish Civil Guard, and Europol.
In Madrid, the authorities found "some very rare pre-Columbian objects illegally acquired through looting in Colombia." For its part, the Argentinian Federal Police Force seized 2,500 historical coins in "the largest seizure for this category."
The Latvian State Police also confiscated 1,375 coins.
Operational highlights include Afghan Customs seizing 971 cultural objects at Kabul airport just as the objects were about to depart for Istanbul, Turkey.
Over 28 percent of the confiscated objects had been displayed online for sale. Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, WCO secretary general, said: "Online illicit markets are one of the major vehicles for this crime."
