ImmigrationICE breaks up international artifact smuggling ring

Immigration officials recently broke up an international gang of thieves who were using the Orlando International Airport to smuggle ancient artifacts into the country.

One member of the gang was recently apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Puerto Rico as he was transporting several ancient artifacts.

“Based on our investigative efforts, we identified some individuals. One of those individuals was ultimately stopped and detained at the airport in Puerto Rico. In his possession, he had seven additional figurines,” said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of the operation.

ICE officials are still investigating the case and say that an unknown number of people remain at large. The gang is suspected of smuggling dozens of ancient statues and tools, some dating back to 2000 BC, out of the Dominican Republic.

“These particular individuals that we came across had other records for dealing in stolen antiquities,” said McCormick.

Agents first began investigating the case three years ago when ICE agents searching an Orlando warehouse found suspicious packages marked “stone figurines.” The items were confiscated, but similar packages continued to arrive throughout the state. With the help of a University of Florida curator, the artifacts were identified and agents were informed that they were highly prized on the black market.

“Everybody is out to make a buck and these people intended to sell these and get the highest price for the antiquities,” said McCormick.

Last Thursday, the U.S. government returned the recovered artifacts to Dominican officials. ICE says it knows the whereabouts of the remaining smugglers, but they are currently in other countries making it difficult to apprehend them.