ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) returned 26 ancient Greek artifacts to the Mediterranean nation last week after they were recovered in the U.S.
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“ICE HSI takes great pride in leveraging our investigative expertise and customs authority, along with our partners, that led to the repatriation of these 26 invaluable antiquities illicitly plundered from their homeland back to the people of Greece,” said ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall.
“These treasured artifacts were a valued part of life in the ancient world. I am especially grateful to the investigative and prosecutorial team responsible for recovering and returning these priceless treasures,” he added.
The 26 artifacts were recovered following investigations by HSI working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the FBI, and the State Department.
Officials restored the stolen artifacts to Greece in a ceremony at the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C.
The artifacts included 25 coins from Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine Empire, along with the 500-pound marble bust of the Greek god of medicine and healing, Asclepius.
The bust, from the first or second century and standing 40 inches tall, was recovered by law enforcement after the paperwork accompanying it was deemed fraudulent following an HSI and CBP investigation.
One gold coin minted in 370 BC shows Hercules on one side and a Pegasus on the other. An unidentified looter recovered the coin and sold it to a middleman, who later sold it to the head of an unspecified criminal organization for €7,000.
The coin was exported out of Greece to Germany, where it failed to sell at an auction house. It was then sent to an auction house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it was found by U.S. authorities.
Other artifacts included a bronze coin from Macedonia, found at the same auction house as the gold coin, and a silver coin from Rhodes, recovered after the importer failed to show that it was exported from Greece legally.
On Friday, the FBI also announced that they recovered and returned a 17th-century reliquary stolen from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo di Cangiano in Italy.
FBI agents recovered the artifact from an antiques dealer in the Northeast, who voluntarily relinquished it and who was seemingly unaware that it was stolen.
Sounds Greek to me
I believe after reading the article twice, the author didn’t mention WHO stole the items. Isn’t that basic journalism?
Did we send any prisoners back as well? Just seeing if anyone is paying attention to Old Scripture stuff here. Post the ruler’s name if you know the answer.