By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 29 Jan 2015 • 9:55
ANCIENT Egyptian treasures were among 2,200 looted artefacts worth millions of euros seized by police in a Europe-wide operation.
In Spain police discovered 36 objects suspected to have been stolen from archaeological sites hidden inside cheap vases in a shipping container in Valencia.
They included a statue of the goddess Isis and a vase covered in hieroglyphics. The Spanish finds are worth up to €300,000.
The container had been shipped from Alexandria in Egypt, leading police to suspect the items had been looted illegally from ancient sites.
Several arrests of Spanish and Egyptian citizens were made and they now face charges of trafficking historic objects, money laundering and being part of a criminal group.
The operation was part of a Europe-wide crack down in 14 countries in which 35 arrests were made. Thousands of antiques shops, auction houses and arts dealers were inspected for potentially illegally obtained ancient objects.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.