DUBAI: Customs authorities in Dubai announced yesterday they had foiled an attempt to smuggle scores of artifacts from Iraq and other countries into the emirate.
Some of the 128 priceless pieces, seized from six Iranian sailors in June, are 5,000 years old, said Ahmed Butti Ahmed, director general of Dubai Customs, at a press conference yesterday.
The artifacts were smuggled aboard a ship that docked in Dubai Creek, he said, but did not explain the delay in announcing the bust. The artifacts were found in a compartment the men had refused to open. The items included pottery pieces with Arabic inscriptions and animal paintings, silver vessels, gold and silver coins and jewelry.
Initial examinations showed the oldest artifacts date back to 3000 BC, Ahmed said.
He said the ship's captain had demanded a speedy inspection claiming that the ship did not carry any cargo. Inspectors dismissed the demand, searched the vessel and discovered a fake wall hiding the contraband. The crew and the captain immediately denied any knowledge of the cargo.
The captain had tried to stop inspectors from removing the wall by claiming that it would cause the ship to sink, according to the inspectors. One of the crewmen reportedly admitted that he placed the contraband in the hold without the knowledge of other sailors or the captain.
Ahmed said experts from the British National Museum would visit Dubai in January to examine the artifacts and determine their origin, so they can be returned to their owners.
Around 32,000 artifacts were looted from 12,000 archaeological sites in Iraq during the chaos that followed the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, and 15,000 items were also stolen from the Baghdad National Museum.
By Shadiah Abdullah
© Arab News 2008
