Greek police arrested seven people on the island of Crete for their part in the theft of antiquities and seized ancient objects estimated to be worth more than a million euros.
Among the items that the gang planned to sell to the Italian citizen were seven stone coffins and vases from the late Minoan and Stone Age, as well as many other antiquities.
The police operation, which included house searches, took place in the Krusonas area in the Malevizi municipality of Heraklion prefecture on Tuesday. According to sources cited by state broadcaster ERT, the investigation into the case began more than four months ago. The green light for the police operation was given on Monday after the location of the antiquities in the warehouse was established.
Initially, five people were arrested, then another, and the interpreter assigned to provide communication between the gang and the Italian buyer turned himself into the police. Among those arrested are a former port authority worker, a pensioner from the archaeological service, and a 69-year-old Italian citizen. All of them were delivered to the prosecutor on Wednesday morning.
According to Cretapostthey will be charged, depending on individual involvement, for acts of a criminal nature, such as creating and participating in a criminal organization, violating antiquities laws. Police said they were looking for two more people.
The gang operated for three years, three men – a 46-year-old carpenter, a 56-year-old port officer and a 72-year-old pensioner – were its “founders”. It all started in 2020, when men decided to buy and sell antiques.
At first, two of them were engaged in the discovery of antiquities, recorded people who own antiques, and also selected clientele. The pensioner, who used to work in the archaeological service because of his special knowledge, served as an appraiser of ancient objects found by two accomplices. He gave them information about both the cultural value of antiquities and their monetary value.
One of those still wanted, a 71-year-old man, found an Italian “who was desperately trying to acquire some of the illegal antiquities.” The Italian buyer arrived in Heraklion on Easter Sunday. A gang member took him to a warehouse where antiquities were kept. The criminals did not know that there were already police officers in the warehouse who knew about this group, as they were secretly monitoring some members of the gang.
The police detained the Italian and the gang member, and then proceeded to arrest other members of the criminal group.
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