Türkiye seizes 2,000-year-old statue’s head in smuggling crackdown raid

This photo taken on June 17, 2023 shows the head of a 2,000-year-old statue seized by Turkish police in Izmir, Türkiye. Turkish police seized the head of a 2,000-year-old statue in the western city of Izmir as part of a crackdown on a ring of historical artifact smugglers, the state-run Anadolu agency reported Saturday.

The head is believed to be part of a marble statue depicting a goddess or a noble dating back to the Hellenistic period. (Izmir Police Department/Handout via Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, June 17 (Xinhua) — Turkish police seized the head of a 2,000-year-old statue in the western city of Izmir as part of a crackdown on a ring of historical artifact smugglers, the state-run Anadolu agency reported Saturday.

The police raided the house of a suspect believed to be involved in the smuggling of ancient treasures in the Karabaglar district of Izmir and found the head of the statue in a dishwasher.

The head is believed to be part of a marble statue depicting a goddess or a noble dating back to the Hellenistic period.

Legal procedures have been launched against the suspect who allegedly attempted to smuggle the artifact abroad. ■