Roman Marble Bust Among 11,000 Stolen Artifacts Recovered in European Crackdown

Several religious icons that were among the stolen artefacts that were recovered during a crackdown on international art trafficking, at an unknown location in Greece in an undated handout picture obtained on May 4, 2023. Courtesy of Europol/Handout via Reuters

AMSTERDAM—A crackdown on international art trafficking has recovered 11,049 stolen artifacts, including ancient coins and books and a marble bust believed to represent the niece of a Roman emperor, European police force Europol said on Thursday.

Sixty people were arrested in the raids across 14 European countries last year, part of so-called Operation Pandora launched by Europol in 2016 and renewed annually since then.

A stolen artefact that was recovered during a crackdown on international art trafficking, in the trunk of a vehicle at an unknown location in Spain in an undated handout picture obtained on May 4, 2023. Courtesy of Europol/Handout via Reuters

Among the recovered artifacts were over 3,000 ancient coins, 77 ancient books stolen from the archives of a monastery, 89 religious sculptures and other religious artifacts, and a Roman marble bust of a woman believed to represent Salonia Matidia, niece of Trajan, Roman emperor from 98–117 A.D.

Spain led the latest reported Pandora crackdown with the support of Europol and Interpol, while Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Bosnia took part.