A catch of inestimable value.
The National Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigations (CNRED) announced that it had seized 8,659 pieces of antiquities from Turkey.
This finding is “the culmination of an international investigation started in February 2021”, indicate customs in a press release, specifying the investigations made it possible to uncover “trafficking in cultural property looted in Turkey, then transiting via Bulgaria and Austria, and intended for Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France.
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Two Byzantine tablets of “invaluable” value
The ancient pieces were collected in Turkey “from detectorists, in remote villages in Anatolia”, then transported to France “by truck or by postal freight”.
In France, the recipient “then proceeded to clean the objects, then offered them for sale, via companies of which he was the manager, on an online auction platform, specializing in numismatics”, again according to the customs.
French customs
Among the ancient objects were notably two Byzantine tablets, including an “exemption plaque” (tabula ansata), from the 6th century, “of inestimable value”, according to the customs services.
Only two other examples are currently known in the world.
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The looted coins were analyzed by experts from the National Library of France, and the Turkish origin of the coins was confirmed.
The value of the whole is estimated at 840,000 euros.
“Numerous monetary treasures and other objects of great archaeological value” were thus appraised, again according to customs.