By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least 11,000 stolen artworks and artefacts including ancient books, sculptures and coins have been seized by law enforcement officials across Europe with the arrest of 60 suspects after a crackdown last year, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) announced on Thursday.
According to the international police cooperation body, forces led by Spain’s Guardia Civil police swooped on the art criminals from September 13 to 24 last year in a slew of European nations, as part of an annual operation codenamed Pandora VII.
The items recovered included 77 ancient books in Italy stolen from a monastery, thousands of historic coins in Poland, and 48 religious sculptures and other artefacts in Portugal, believed to have been nabbed in a string of church robberies in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Police from 15 countries took part in the exercise. They include, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
France-based Interpol oversaw coordination between the different forces, along with the EU law enforcement cooperation agency Europol.
“Some 130 investigations are still ongoing, as a result of which more seizures and arrests are anticipated as investigators around the globe go after those spoiling and destroying cultural heritage,” Interpol said in a statement.
Pandora operations to recover stolen art and artefacts have been carried out every year since 2016.
