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In an international police action against cultural property crime, 11,049 art objects were seized and 60 suspects arrested. “Operation Pandora VII” ran from June to September last year, the European police authority Europol announced on Thursday. 30 stolen works of art were found in Austria, said Heinz Holub-Friedreich, spokesman for the Federal Criminal Police Office, when asked by APA. In the operation supported by Europol and Interpol, art dealers, auction houses and online platforms were checked. “Pandora” took place for the seventh time. “Cyber Patrol” training courses organized by the Dutch police were held in May and September in order to be able to better assess offers on the Internet. Austria’s police authorities carried out increased checks at borders and airports with customs. Motor vehicles, auction houses and online platforms were also checked for stolen cultural property, the spokesman said. The BK department for searches for cultural property compared photos of art objects with national and international databases and analyzed relevant offers on the Internet.
“Lost” gold coins found
“During ‘Operation Pandora VII’, a total of 30 items were seized in seven cases, including coins, sculptures and archaeological artefacts,” reported Holub-Friedreich on the results in Austria. These included gold coins “lost” in the UK, as well as stolen artefacts from Mexico, Peru and Cambodia that were offered at local auction houses or galleries.
In Italy, 77 historical books stolen from a monastery’s library and meant to be sold online have resurfaced, according to Europol. The Spanish Guardia Civil confiscated a Roman marble bust in Seville. 3,073 ancient coins were confiscated in Poland and 48 church statues and other religious works of art in Portugal. The objects were believed to have been looted in a series of 15 heists in churches in northern Portugal between 1992 and 2003. Other religious objects, including icons and altarpieces, were confiscated by the Greek police. In addition to Austria, 13 other European countries took part in the operation.
Source: Nachrichten
