NINE PEOPLE have been arrested and remanded by police in connection with the smuggling of antiquities worth about €11 million, in what is believed to be the largest such case in the island’s modern history.
A further four Cypriots and one Syrian are still being sought by police.
One of the arrested suspects, a retired police officer, is currently in hospital with heart problems.
Over 100 artefacts, including statuettes and urns, have so far been found, along with a large number of coins and seals.
Photographs of other artefacts not yet recovered by police were found in the possession of the suspects.
“Included in the stolen items are a large number of Cypriot antiquities which date back to the Bronze Age, roughly 2000BC up until 400BC,” said Maria Hadjicostis, the Director of the Department of Antiquities. “They are significant artefacts. From what we have seen rare antiquities are not included,” she said.
As a criminal operation the antiquities theft ring seems to have had international connections. Some of the suspects currently being held by police allegedly said they were able to get hold of certain artefacts not amongst those already seized to sell these to their commercial middlemen, a Greek national.
Hadjicostis noted that some of the artefacts which were seized, like a miniature gold coffin, were not Cypriot. Once this was confirmed beyond any doubt, Cyprus would have to use the international resources and agencies available to make sure the pieces were returned to the museums which they were originally stolen from, she said.
The group involved in the theft seems to have been both well-organised and educated. According to police they were found in possession of excavation tools, books on archaeology and catalogues listing a large variety of antiquities along with their estimated market value.
“Indeed there is theft going on at quite a developed level, precisely because the area from which archaeological artefacts can be taken is quite extensive: the entirety of Cyprus is an archeologically rich area,” said Nicos Nicolaides, the Minster of Communication and Works,
Hadjicostis noted that the majority of the artefacts found so far in the case seem to come from the Limassol and Paphos areas and not from the north of the island.
Police spokesman, Michalis Katsounotos, said that a pistol discovered at the scene will undergo ballistics testing to determine whether it was used in other crimes.
The law says anyone who discovers antiquities in Cyprus is required to contact the Department of Antiquities immediately to report the find and must not move the artefact from the location in which it was found.
