STORY: Türkiye detains 47 suspects over artifact smuggling
SHOOTING TIME: July 11, 2024
DATELINE: July 12, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:44
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: LAW

SHOTLIST:
1. various of large-scale operations against international artifact smuggling network (courtesy of the Turkish Interior Ministry)

STORYLINE:

Turkish police have detained 47 suspects in large-scale operations against an international artifact smuggling network, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.

Following operations conducted in 24 provinces, the police seized 6,325 ancient coins and 997 other historical artifacts in the western Izmir province, Yerlikaya said on X.

The minister added that the suspects obtained historical artifacts belonging to Türkiye through unlawful excavations and illegally sold them to auction houses abroad to gain unfair profits.

An examination of the suspects' bank account movements revealed that five auction houses in Europe and the United States transferred approximately 72 million liras (2.19 million U.S. dollars) in foreign currency to the ringleader of the organization and his family members.

Some 1,057 historical artifacts of Turkish origin seized in Croatia in 2020 and returned to Türkiye were also taken abroad as part of the organization's activities.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)