Ancient Treasures Worth Millions Seized After Being Smuggled Into the U.S.

Authorities have seized 14 ancient Egyptian artifacts being “illegally smuggled” into the U.S., prosecutors have said. Prosecutors said the items were transported to various airports from overseas between August 2020 and April 2021. Among them was an “Old Kingdom Limestone Funerary Statue,” believed to be from Saqqara or Giza, and worth approximately $6 million. The items were allegedly bound for private collectors, with at least one known to be in Maryland. They included “amulets, stone figurines,” and a vase. U.S. Customs and Border Protection looked at “numerous parcels from overseas shippers transiting through airports in Anchorage, Alaska, Cincinnati, Ohio, and New York City,” a Maryland Attorney’s Office statement said. They were labeled misleadingly, it added, purporting to contain