SAEDNEWS: Commander Mohsen Aqili, head of the country’s airport police, announced that a smuggling network dealing in antiquities and cultural heritage objects has been uncovered. He stated that the artifacts seized at Imam Khomeini International Airport had been obtained within the country by smugglers through various illicit methods.
According to Saed News, citing Faradid, the head of Iran’s Airport Police, Brigadier General Mohsen Aqili, announced the discovery and dismantling of a smuggling network involved in trafficking antiquities and cultural heritage items.
He stated that the ancient objects seized at Imam Khomeini International Airport had been illegally obtained within the country by smugglers through various channels before being prepared for illegal export.
Brigadier General Aqili detailed the identification and arrest of members of the smuggling network operating at the airport. He explained that valuable historical items, representing Iran’s cultural heritage, were being transferred abroad for sale, with most of them consisting of coins from different historical periods.
He added that, according to cultural heritage experts, the seized coins were of extremely high value and could not even be precisely priced.
The Airport Police chief emphasized that this was a significant seizure carried out in time to prevent the artifacts from leaving the country. The suspects have been arrested and the case has been referred to the competent judicial authorities.
He further noted that the initial destination of the smuggled goods was Dubai, from where they were intended to be redistributed to other countries. He concluded that dismantling such networks would help reduce the trafficking of antiquities and cultural heritage items.
