Police sting ensnares illegal artifact traders
Four suspected members of a gang illegally trading in medieval artifacts were detained by police in Thessaloniki yesterday after allegedly trying to sell two icons and a gold cross dating to the Middle Ages for 5 million euros. The three men, aged 56, 69 and 74, and one woman, 57, were arrested by an undercover officer posing as a prospective buyer. The suspects had begun negotiating the sale of the artifacts in February, according to police who said that their value was smaller than the sum being asked. Officers seized several more artifacts during raids on the suspects’ homes in the northern town of Serres. In a related development, archaeologists in Thessaloniki have discovered more than 1,400 ancient tombs during excavation work for the city’s metro system. The tombs date to between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD.
