According to a new Interpol report, international law enforcement authorities in 28 countries carrying out the latest phase of Operation Pandora, an international crackdown on the illegal trafficking of cultural property, seized 9,408 cultural artifacts between June and September of last year.
Fifty-two arrests were also made in connection with the seizures, which took place at airports, border crossings, auction houses, museums and private homes. The authorities also monitored online markets in collaboration with the National Police of the Netherlands.
Operation Pandora VI, which lasted four months, was led by the Spanish authorities under the international supervision of Europol, Interpol and the World Customs Organization. Operation Pandora was first undertaken in 2016 and has so far resulted in 407 arrests and the recovery of 147,050 cultural property.
Among the artifacts seized in the most recent phase are furniture, coins, paintings, sculptures, musical instruments and archaeological treasures, reports the Guardian.
Paintings recovered by Operation Pandora VI, an international effort to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Photo courtesy of Interpol.
French customs alone seized more than 4,000 archaeological objects, including 3,000 coins, all of which had been looted by a single person. In total, authorities from seven European agencies also seized 90 metal detectors before they could be used to loot archaeological sites.
U.S. Border Control recovered 12 ancient Aztec and Mexican artifacts smuggled from Mexico, and Spanish National Police confiscated 91 Roman Empire gold coins that could have fetched up to €500,000 ($550,000). $) on the black market.
The Dutch Art and Antiques Crime Unit recovered a pair of paintings by Kees Verweij after investigating the online sales catalog of an Amsterdam auction house, while Romanian police recovered a cross from 13th century procession stolen in 2016 from the museum of the Evangelical Church of Cisnadie.
Today, there are still 170 active investigations linked to the operation, with more arrests and seizures expected in the coming months.
See more photos of the recovered artwork and artifacts below.
An artifact from Cyprus recovered by Operation Pandora VI, an international effort to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Photo courtesy of Interpol.
An artifact recovered by Operation Pandora VI, an international effort to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Photo courtesy of Interpol.
Artifacts recovered by Operation Pandora VI, an international effort to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Photo courtesy of Interpol.
A cannon from a Galician shipwreck recovered by Operation Pandora VI, an international effort to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Photo courtesy of Interpol.
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