Spanish police have arrested two people for smuggling an enormous cache of looted pre-Colombian artifacts.
Seven hundred antiques including masks, sculptures, jewelry and ceramics, dozens made of gold, all of them extremely valuable museum-quality artifacts looted from archaeological sites in Peru and Ecuador were weeks away from the auction block.
It is alleged that the historic treasures were plundered from archaeological sites – mostly in Peru and Ecuador – and then sold on to the couple through middlemen in Colombia.
The couple had just returned from a trip to the Colombian capital, Bogota.
The Spanish police seized documents and a computer which allegedly detailed a trade in cultural contraband stretching back years.
One interesting thing about these low-down dirty no good sons of bitches “antiquities dealers” is that they tend to keep excellent records. If police can manage a surprise raid, they can get loads of information about the criminal organization.
I hope they throw every book they have at them.