[CPProt.net] Spainish police arrest 16 art traffickers

[Museum Security Network / Cultural Property Protection Net (Ton Cremers)]

Spain police arrest 16 art traffickers
 
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police arrested 16 art forgers and sellers of
false or stolen artworks and seized more than 10,000 artefacts in raids
across the country, police said on Saturday.

The artefacts included archaeological treasures such as coins and figurines
from several ancient cultures, forged paintings of famous Spanish artists
and equipment to make fake and aged coins.

Police said in a statement that while thefts of artworks from Spanish
museums and galleries had decreased in recent years, thefts from
archaeological sites and trafficking in forged artworks were on the rise.

The arrested traffickers used a wide variety of methods to sell artefacts,
from online auctions to old-style stands at flea markets, police said.

Some of the seized paintings were so technically accomplished that art
experts alone were not able to establish if they were authentic, and
laboratory analyses would be needed, the statement added.

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