Italian police nab artifact-trafficking gang
July 4, 2018
Police in four countries made scores of arrests on Wednesday, after busting an international criminal gang who stole artifacts from Sicilian archaeological sites, the EU's police agency said.
The predawn raids on over 40 houses were the culmination of a four-year investigation led by Italy's Carabinieri Art Squad, Europol said.
The group "illegally exported" many of the stolen artifacts to Germany, where they were granted fake certificates of origin and sold by auction houses in Munich, Italian police said.
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Some of the 25,000 objects recovered included ancient coins, statues and pottery, as well as fake artifacts that were estimated to be worth over €40 million ($46.5 million). Police also seized about 1,500 tools used by the gang to illegally excavate archaeological sites in central Sicily, where Greek and Roman artifacts can be found.
Across several countries
Twenty-three people have been arrested in relation to the gang, with eight in custody, seven under house arrest in Italy, and three subject to European arrest warrants in Germany, Spain and Britain.
A 61-year-old Italian was arrested in Ehingen, in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and €30,000 in cash was seized from his home.
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William Veres, a British art dealer, was served an international arrest warrant and was detained in London. Another Italian was arrested in Barcelona.
The group's alleged leader is a 76-year-old man known as "Zu Gino" (Uncle Gino), who worked out of the Sicilian town of Riesi.
Police are also investigating two Munich auction houses.
Another five suspects were not detained, but have been ordered to report regularly to police, the art heritage squad said.
rs, law/kms (AP, AFP, dpa)