[MSN] Pakistan. Antiques smuggling case: Customs want clearing agents' bail cancelled.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Antiques smuggling case: Customs want clearing agents' bail cancelled

 Staff Report

KARACHI: The customs authorities have submitted an application in court for
the cancellation of the pre-arrest bail for clearing agents who are
allegedly involved in the antiques smuggling case that was unearthed this
week.

Customs officials declined to make public the name of the firm under whose
name the container was booked. They said that until they completely
investigate the clearing agents they are unable to comment on the case.

The archaeology and museums department has estimated at Rs 30 million the
value of the 625 antiques that were caught in a consignment destined for
Sharjah. However, official said that the antiques had unlimited value in the
international market.

However, more significantly, the discovery was the second largest by customs
in the last decade. The largest such consignment to be caught consisted of
1,400 items. This recovery was made exactly one year ago in Karachi around
Nov 11. This implies that the antiques are smuggled out of Pakistan around
this time of the year perhaps for an annual auction in the international
market. The first recovery was also of Buddhist and Gandhara art and they
mostly came from Afghanistan.

For the recovery made this week, the experts suspect that the statues came
from some area near Swat. They are investigating the possibility of them
being either stolen from a museum or a private collection. The experts also
said that they were worried the antiques could have been smuggled to
Pakistan from Afghanistan and were destined for Sharjah later on.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/