World cultural heritage threatened by looters

The newly created police squad in charge of the protection of the cultural heritage of the province of Tipaza took off the veil the first case of antique arts smuggling which go back to the roman period due to be sold by an antique dealer to foreign tourists.

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• This is the first case of its kind that touched a sensitive sector in a province classified as a world heritage by UNESCO. Local authorities received warnings concerning looming threats on the province’s antique cites.
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• According to security sources, a police patrol noticed that antique pieces of art were displayed for sale in a famous antique store. Soon after the discovery an expertise conducted by a specialist concluded to the fact that the 100 pieces of art were genuine historical pieces which go back to the Roman period.
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• The recovered items include oil lamps, silver jewellery, coins, rings and bones all of them out of reach since they were classified as a world heritage.