Arrested 175 people in six provinces of the PRC. Seized over 1,000 items worth about 80 million dollars

Chinese police exposed the largest network of black archaeologists. Arrested 175 people in six Chinese provinces. Seized more than 1,000 artifacts worth about $ 80 million. According to the Ministry of state security, is the largest open network of smugglers engaged in Chinese antiquities, since the formation of the PRC in 1949 goda@

Stolen items cover a Millennium of Chinese history from the Neolithic age to the Qing dynasty that ended his rule in 1911. Among the most valuable artifacts of jade figure of a mythical creature with a head like a pig and a tail of a dragon. These figures refer to the Hongshan culture, widespread in the territories of inner Mongolia is approximately 5000 years nazad@

Scale police investigation began in June 2014, after the discovery of illegal excavations in Liaoning province. "Traces of the excavations were everywhere — around protected ruins, deep in the mountains, away from the popular routes," said The Beijing Times, a representative of the Committee for the protection of cultural zennostei@

First caught the three people that led to well-developed smuggling networks. Among them is singled out by a certain professional by the name of Yao. As written in Chinese Newspapers, he was able to determine the best location for excavation using the techniques of Feng Shui. Other black diggers used more modern tools, in particular machines for mineral exploration to understand the location of objects under the ground. There were even arrested some real archaeologists. One of them admitted that they changed their moral principles when found during excavations of the jade dragon. He realized that he can solve their own financial problems. As a result, he sold it for 520 thousand dollars and gave the money to the intermediary, the remaining money bought the house for themselves and their roditelam@

Material was prepared by Maria Onuchin, AI

Источники: artnet.com, nytimes.com, artinvestment.ru