25 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

“Operation Heritage” uncovers an artifact smuggling ring in Turkey

Turkish security forces searched locations in 38 regions on Tuesday in one of the largest operations against artifact smugglers, with arrest warrants issued for 143 people.

The operation, dubbed “Operation Heritage,” was aimed at those who were sending antiquities from unlawful excavations to auction houses in other countries.

After the “Anatolian” operation against those who smuggled historical artifacts from Turkey to Europe, the smugglers were not allowed in with the “Heritage” operation.

The operations, which took place in the central province of Konya, were the culmination of an investigation that lasted about a year. With arrest warrants issued by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Seydişehir district, police anti-smuggling and organized crime units confiscated wealth of artifacts in operations.

Seydişehir is well-known for its rich history, which includes Neolithic civilizations, Hittites, Seljuks, and Ottomans, as well as Roman domination. Most of the artifacts extracted from the area are on display at the Konya Archaeological Museum.

The operation also thwarted the sale of a Byzantine-era empire seal smuggled from Turkey at an auction house in Switzerland for 28,000 Swiss francs ($29,144), media outlets reported.

Security sources told media outlets that the smuggling organization was broken into four divisions. One group consisted of “diggers,” who conducted the dirty job of illegally excavating archaeological sites and other conserved locations. They gave the valuable antiquities they discovered to “collectors.” The “collectors” then passed them on to “marketers,” who were ringleaders in charge of promoting artifacts to auction houses in other nations. The items were smuggled overseas by a fourth group known as “couriers.”

One of those “couriers,” a truck driver, assisted investigators in determining the scope of the smuggling. The driver was apprehended while attempting to ship 1,736 antiquities to a British auction firm through freight through Austria. A study by specialists from the Culture and Tourism Ministry revealed that the bulk of the items originated in Anatolia and therefore, the property of Turkey.

Investigating the suspects’ bank accounts, security officials determined that the ringleader was sent a huge sum of money by six auction houses in Europe and the United States, among others, and that the money was distributed among members of the ring.

The operation also thwarted the sale of a Byzantine-era empire seal smuggled from Turkey at an auction house in Switzerland for 28,000 Swiss francs ($29,144), media outlets reported.

Turkey in recent years, it has undertaken a fresh legal campaign to reclaim the Anatolian heritage that has been transferred overseas. Thanks to the efforts of the country’s anti-smuggling officials, the government recovered around 3,480 of its cultural treasures in 2021.

Related Articles

Egypt unearths 2,300-year-old remains of Greco-Roman town in Alexandria

28 August 2021

28 August 2021

An Egyptian archeological team discovered the ruins of a Greco-Roman residential and commercial town in the north coast city of...

Ancient Curse Tablets Reveal Dark Spiritual Practices in the Roman Empire – and Their Echo in the Bible

17 June 2025

17 June 2025

New Research Connects Ritual Cursing to the Book of Revelation From jealous lovers to petty thieves, people in the ancient...

Archaeologists may have discovered the site where Otto the Great, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, died

5 October 2023

5 October 2023

Archaeologists believe they have found the site where Emperor Otto I (936-973), known as the Great, founder of the Holy...

Truncated conical tombs 3,000 years old found in the Chapultepec Forest

26 November 2023

26 November 2023

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) unearthed 10 truncated conical tombs, approximately 3,000 years old, at...

A painted Wooden Saddle Discovered in an Ancient Tomb in Mongolia Represents Earliest Evidence of Modern Horse Riding

13 December 2023

13 December 2023

Researchers unearthed a wooden saddle framed with iron stirrups in a tomb in Urd Ulaan Uneet, popularly known as the...

Archaeologists uncovered an Aztec altar with human ashes in Mexico City

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 16th-century altar in Plaza Garibaldi, the center in Mexico City famous for its revelry...

Mustatil Structures in Arabia May Be 7,000-Year-Old Stone Remnants of Cattle Cult

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

Archaeologists examining the mustatil stone remains in the northwest of Arabia think that these stone remains may have been used...

Largest Headhunting Massacre of Women and Children in Neolithic China

12 November 2023

12 November 2023

A new study discovers that ancient headless skeletons discovered in mass graves in China are the remains of victims who...

A Roman Votive Monument Discovered During Excavations at the Roman Open-Air Museum Hechingen-Stein

1 November 2024

1 November 2024

During recent excavations by the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council and the Association for...

Archaeologists found a medieval skeleton with a prosthetic hand in Freising, Germany

28 October 2023

28 October 2023

Archaeologists in the city of Freising in Bavaria, Germany, unearthed containing a skeleton with a prosthetic hand. The metal part...

Archaeologists Uncover 4,800-Year-Old Bronze Age Tombs in Başur Höyük, Türkiye, Where Teenage Girls Were Ritually Sacrificed

30 March 2025

30 March 2025

As the first civilizations began to emerge in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, significant transformations in social structure, economy, and culture took...

Anatolia’s largest olive oil factory unearthed

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

A Roman-era olive oil factory has been unearthed during excavations in the İskenderun district of Hatay. It has been reported...

Rescue work begins on a 160-year-old shipwreck, the largest and best-preserved wooden shipwreck ever discovered underwater in China

3 March 2022

3 March 2022

Rescue work has begun on a 160-year-old shipwreck in China, the largest and best-preserved wooden wreck ever discovered underwater. This...

Using 3D scanners, archaeologists have identified the person who carved Jelling Stone Runes

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

Researchers at the National Museum of Denmark using 3D scans have identified who carved the Jelling Stone Runes, located in...

New research, prove that Romans were breeding small bulldogs

11 June 2023

11 June 2023

Researchers have proven that breeding small brachycephalic (shorter-nosed) dogs took place already in ancient Rome. Research on a 2,000 years...