4 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

More than 56400 Cultural Goods Seized in Operation Pandora V

Operation Pandora V, aimed at preventing the illegal trade of cultural goods, has been one of the most successful operations ever. Archaeological artifacts, furniture, coins, drawings, musical instruments, and sculptures are among these objects.

More than 56,400 cultural goods were rescued in the operation, which was carried out with the participation of 31 countries in total.

During the operating process, tens of thousands of checks and controls were performed in airports, ports, border crossing points, auction houses, libraries, and private residences. As a result, over 300 inquiries were launched, and 67 people were arrested.

This operation was led by the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), with the international coordination supported by Europol, INTERPOL, and the WCO. PANDORA V was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).

Given the global nature of this crime, operation coordination units working 24/7 were established by Europol on one side, and the World Customs Organization and INTERPOL on the other, to support the exchange of information as well as disseminate alerts, warnings and perform cross-checks in different international and national databases.

French Customs (Douane), which seized 27 300 archaeological artifacts in a single investigation in the results of the operation, showed great success.

French custom
French Customs (Douane), seized 27 300 archaeological artifacts in a single investigation.

Operation results

    • The Spanish authorities seized more than 7 700 cultural goods including archaeological artifacts, coins, sculptures and statues, weapons, paintings, and archives of sound, film, and photography with a value in excess of €9 million.
    • During the operational phase, the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) also finalized a complex investigation initiated within the framework of Pandora III. As a result, one individual was arrested and 94 objects stolen in various places of worship were recovered. A total of €165 000 in cash was seized at his home. The arrestee is suspected of trying to sell online these stolen goods, such as a 16th-century silver chalice and an illuminated manuscript of the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana.
    • During searches on the internet, the Swedish Police (Polisen) identified a folk art item stolen in Sweden in 2019. At that same online auction, the Swedish Police discovered a pair of 17th-century candlesticks stolen from a Swedish church 8 years ago.
    • The Italian Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri) reported more than 2 700 cultural goods seized including ceramics, archaeological goods, art, and books valued at €1 155 000.
    • The Hellenic Police (Ελληνική Αστυνομία) carried out 34 arrests and recovered a total of 6 757 antiquities, including ceramic and marble objects, as well as 6 452 coins, 5 533 of which were recovered in one single investigation. In one case, two Greek nationals were arrested for trying to sell 6 marble and clay antiquities for €150 000.
    • A total of 50 metal detectors were seized, and 6 of them were seized directly in archaeological sites, clearly demonstrating that such sites are under threat.
    • Several hundreds of Word War II grenades and other explosive devices were seized by the Police Force of the Slovak Republic (Policajný zbor Slovenskej Republiky). This is a worrisome development as some of these old explosive devices are still functional and may lead to numerous casualties.
Pandora V
Operation Pandora V 

Internatıonal coordination

Europol, as co-leader of this action, played a key role in implementing the entire operation by facilitating information exchange, and providing analytical and operational support. The WCO also facilitated intelligence exchange among different agencies through a special user group created on its CENComm communication platform.

INTERPOL connected Balkan and European participating countries, facilitating the exchange of information through its secure communications system. A dedicated expert supported the entire operation by double-checking searches against INTERPOL’s Stolen Works of Art database to locate and identify stolen and missing items.

Participating countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Source: İNTERPOL Press Release

Related Articles

Ancient Mastaba Tomb of Royal Physician “Magician of the Goddess Selket” discovered in Sakkara

7 January 2025

7 January 2025

In the southern region of the Saqqara archaeological site, a joint French-Swiss archaeological team made an important discovery uncovering the...

A Roman statue of the sea god Triton discovered near A2, London Road

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman Statue of Triton during excavations in preparation for a housing development in Kent, England. Archaeologists...

Archaeologists discovered large Roman baths under city museum in Croatia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists who helped with the restoration work of the Split City Museum, one of the most important and visited museums...

Who will solve the puzzle of Bronze Age tin? Origin of tin ingots from Uluburun shipwreck disputed – the metal may have come from Cornwall

3 October 2023

3 October 2023

The exact origin of tin in the Bronze Age is the Holy Grail of archaeometallurgists: For 150 years, experts have...

A Treasure-Laden Burial Chamber Found Hidden Among Terracotta Army

7 June 2024

7 June 2024

Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China, and his tomb is renowned for being guarded by an army...

1.5-Million-year-old Footprints have Revealed the Co-Existence of two Ancient Human Species in Kenya

30 November 2024

30 November 2024

Thanks to a set of preserved footprints on the ancient shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya, researchers have uncovered the...

History, geography, and evolution are rewrites thanks to an incredible dinosaur trove discovered in Italy

2 December 2021

2 December 2021

A dinosaur trove in Italy rewrites the history, geography, and evolution of the ancient Mediterranean area. Italy is not exactly...

Archaeologists Discovered 1,500-Year-Old Maya Palace in Mexico

25 September 2023

25 September 2023

Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) archaeologists have discovered a palace at an ancient Maya city in southeastern...

Evil-Wisher Well: Ancient curse tablets 2,500-year-old found in a well in Athens

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

30 ancient curse tablets were found at the bottom of a 2500-year-old well in ancient Athens. In 2020, Archaeologists from...

Czech experimental archaeologists successfully completed their 1-month voyage in the Aegean Sea using a replica of a prehistoric vessel

17 July 2023

17 July 2023

Radomír Tichý, an archeology professor at the University of Hradec Králové who is also the director of the Všestary Archeopark,...

Three Roman Graves Uncovered in Portugal

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Three burials dating to the 5th or 6th century AD have been unearthed in the ancient Roman city of Ossónoba...

Hiker found a place of holy worship at an altitude of 2,590 meters in the Swiss Alps

15 March 2023

15 March 2023

A trekking enthusiast stumbled upon an ancient Roman coin buried in rubble in a remote area high in the Alps...

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...

Rare 400-year-old Bronze Trumpets Discovered on a shipwreck in Croatia

12 July 2024

12 July 2024

Croatian underwater archaeologists have made an extraordinary discovery off the southern coast of Istria near Cape Kamenjak. They have unearthed...

Archaeologists in Derbyshire have unearthed a 9th century Anglo Saxon house

15 July 2021

15 July 2021

A nearly complete Anglo-Saxon house, considered to date from the early ninth century and might have been the abode of...