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| Iraq |
| Jordan Nabs More Than 200 Iraqi Artifact |
| 2003-07-10 |
| Jordanian customs officials have confiscated more than 200 Iraqi artifacts from foreign and Iraqi travelers in the last 10 days, many apparently stolen from museums and archaeological sites, the director-general of the Customs Department said Wednesday. Mahmoud Qteishat said the smuggling attempts included the use of a humanitarian aid plane returning from Iraq. Customs officials at Marka airport found 24 artifacts on the plane, including bronze statues, clay pots and stamps in different sizes dating back to the ancient Sumerian era. Ahem. Which humanitarian agency? Customs agents at the Iraqi-Jordanian border seized a car carrying some 168 Iraqi artifacts, including small statues, clay manuscripts, tablets and Sumerian stamps, Qteishat said. He said the smugglers were Iraqis. Qteishat told The Associated Press that the confiscated items will be stored at Amman’s Archaeology Department and returned to Iraq when the security situation is restored. Nobody was arrested. Only if you’re Japanese and carrying a trinket home do you get arrested in Jordan. Jordanian customs officials have confiscated more than 400 artifacts since the U.S.-led war in Iraq began on March 20, Qteishat said. The items include paintings, a larger-than-life statue of Saddam Hussein on a horse and photo albums of members of the ousted leader’s families. The director said the Paris-based Interpol provided Jordan’s Customs Department with a database of several stolen treasures as a reference for |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 "a larger-than-life statue of Saddam Hussein on a horse and photo albums of members of the ousted leader’s families." "Artifacts",hmmmm I supose,kinda,inaway. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-7-10 7:50:21 AM |
| #1 Assignment to these roving patrols is very popular among the Jordanian police, They get first pick. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-10 4:07:12 AM |