PM:08:35:06/04/2022
2356 View
+
-
SULAIMANI — A suspect was arrested on
charges of trafficking antiquities in Wasit governorate, Security Media Cell
announced on Tuesday (April 5).
The Iraqi intelligence agency arrested a
suspect in possession of 60 coins and a statue believed to date back to ancient
times.
The agency put together a team from its
detachments in Wasit and Anbar governorates and apprehended the suspect under
the Antiquities Law, Article 44, Security Media Cell said.
A great deal Iraq’s archaeological sites
are located in the governorates of Wasit, Dhi Qar and al-Muthanna in the south
of the country.
According to a report by the Arab Weekly,
smugglers transport stolen antiquities through the waterways of south-eastern
Iraq to Amarah, and proceed to Iran, where artifacts are then taken by boat to
markets in the Gulf countries.
Other routes go across the desert through
Jordan, Syria and Turkey. The Iraqi Defense Ministry arrested four smugglers in
December who were found in possession of an antique manuscript in the western
province of Anbar.
Iraq has seen the successful return of
artifacts from abroad in some high-profile cases, including the return of
antiquities from David Green, the billionaire owner of Hobby Lobby, five stolen
antiquities that were seized from art collector Michael Steinhardt in New York,
and more than three hundred smuggled artifacts returned from Lebanon’s Nabu
Museum.
(NRT Digital Media)