[MSN] Stolen Dominican antiquities recovered in the U.S.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Stolen Dominican antiquities recovered in the U.S.
June 8, 2006
 
 
SANTO DOMINGO.- Dominican Republic recovered 85 pre-Columbian art pieces
which had been stolen from the History and Geography Museum years ago and
were on the verge being lost because the time to reclaim then had expired in
the United States. 

According to a source who requested anonymity, the collection, of great
historical value, would be brought to the country tomorrow Friday by the
Museum's director Carlos Hernandez, who traveled to the United States to
receive the recovered the antiquities. 

It was reported that the pieces were smuggled out of the country together
with 470 other pieces detected by the American authorities in a Miami
airport, where they entered U.S. territory. 

According to the source, the smugglers forged an undetermined number of
pieces, to mix them with other authentic ones, in an effort to confuse the
Customs authorities. The source said that the theft had been denounced by
the Dominican authorities as "disappeared" and were placed in the
International Police's (INTERPOL) lists of stolen cultural objects, which
facilitated the search. 

They said that the robbery occurred in 2003 and had not been reported by the
Dominican authorities, reason why the time had expired, which would've
caused inconveniences at the time of recovery.

"the History and Geography Museum  became entangled in a legal process  of
reclamations with the American security departments that lasted eight
months, where the authorities alleged that the time for the claim was over
and that the pieces would be turned over to the Lost Objects Recovery
Department. Imagine if those pieces enter a department like that, we lose
the pieces forever," they said.

The source added that after a legal process and thanks to the Franklin
Center and the American embassy in Dominican Republic the art was returned.
 
http://www.dominicantoday.com/