Security forces foil antiquities smuggling plot

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Federal Intelligence Agency thwarted, on Tuesday, an alleged antiquities trafficking and smuggling operation, arresting a suspect while he was in possession of valuable artifacts of various sizes.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry-affiliated agency said the operation followed intelligence about a suspected organized crime network planning to trade and smuggle antiquities.

Iraqi security forces have carried out several operations against antiquities trafficking in recent months. In August, the National Security Service recovered hundreds of artifacts, manuscripts and rare gold coins in operations across six provinces, arresting suspected dealers and smugglers. In April, security forces dismantled a suspected trafficking network in Samarra, Saladin province, seizing 12 artifacts dating to the Sumerian and Assyrian periods.