ICE Unit Says It Seized 22,000 Ancient Artifacts in Florida
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said it seized more than 22,000 ancient artifacts in Florida in what it described as one of the largest smuggling investigations in the agency’s history. ICE said preliminary evaluations suggest some objects may date from 1,000 to 5,000 years ago and could originate from sites across Europe, Africa, the Levant, and the Eastern Mediterranean, though identification and authentication will take time. The items include coins, ceramic pots and vases, statues, weapons, jewelry, trinkets, and mosaic picture frames, and HSI said it works with university experts because there is no field test for antiquities. The agency did not disclose where, when, or how the artifacts were seized.
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This story was covered in Museums in Meltdown, Billionaires in Control