NEWS

One of two arrested antiquities smugglers facing nine prior convictions

Two Greeks, aged 47 and 57, faced an Athens prosecutor on Wednesday on charges of trading in illegal antiquities following their arrest on Tuesday in the central district of Kolonaki where they had allegedly planned to sell a marble statuette for 3.5 million euros.

Acting on a tipoff, police intercepted the planned sale of the statuette – a female figure with her arms clasped to her chest standing 30 centimeters high. A state archaeologist who examined the artifact said it dated from Greece’s Middle Neolithic era, the period from 5,800 to 5,300 BC.

The 57-year-old suspect already has nine convictions for tax evasion, carrying a total prison sentence of 36 years and seven months.

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