Spanish police say they have seized centuries-old gold artifacts worth more than 60 million euros that were stolen and smuggled out of Ukraine.
The 11 pieces from the collection, including necklaces, bracelets and earrings, were on display in a museum in Kyiv between 2009 and 2013 and were smuggled out of Ukraine before 2016, police said in a statement, AFP reported.
"The seized pieces of the artefacts - gold jewelery of great historical and economic value - were stolen and smuggled out of Ukraine and were to be sold in Madrid." The objects date from the 8th and 4th centuries BC.
Three Spanish and two Ukrainian nationals - one of them an Orthodox priest - were arrested as part of the operation, which was carried out with the help of authorities in Ukraine, as well as Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and North Macedonia.
Police said the artifacts came with forged documents in English, Ukrainian and Spanish to appear to belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"These are items that cannot be sold through the usual legal channels such as auction houses," added a police official.
Police began their investigation back in 2021 after one of the pieces - a gold belt with ram's heads - was sold to a businessman at a private sale in Madrid.
That led investigators to find the other 10 artifacts that police seized last month from the suspects.
The pieces are being studied by Spain's National Archaeological Museum and the country's Cultural Heritage Institute. /BGNES
