US returns over 1,400 stolen antiques worth $10 million to India
PTC News Desk: The United States said on Wednesday that it had returned over 1,400 looted artefacts worth $10 million to India as part of an ongoing operation to repatriate stolen art from South and Southeast Asian countries.
The looted valuables include antiques that were previously on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, CNN reported. Among those retrieved is a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer, which was smuggled from central India to London before being illegally sold to Met patrons and presented to the museum.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney's office, the goods were seized as part of "ongoing investigations into criminal trafficking networks," including those run by convicted art traffickers Subhash Kapoor and Nancy Wiener.
Kapoor, an American antiquities dealer, was sentenced to ten years in prison for running a multimillion-dollar looting network from the front of his New York gallery.
After his arrest in Germany, Kapoor was sent to India to face charges in the matter. The DA's office obtained an arrest for him in 2012, however, Kapoor is in custody in India following his conviction for antiquities trafficking in 2022. His extradition is pending still.
According to a press release from the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge William S Walker stated, "Today's repatriation marks another victory in what has been a multi-year, international investigation into antiquities trafficked by one of history's most prolific offenders."
According to CNN, the looted artefacts were formally handed back to India at a ceremony at New York's Indian consulate.
- With inputs from agencies
