This article regards the smuggling and selling of ancient archeological artifacts illegally. It was reported that a retired lecturer specializing in Ancient Egypt from the US was caught selling antiquities to tourists and trying to leave the country with cash and checks totaling over $20,000 dollars. He tried to smuggle from Israel to the US hundreds of ancient artifacts. The retired lecturer sold the antiquities to some 20 tourists he was guiding, although they didn't know that he was doing so illegally. The suspect was detained at the Ben-Gurion Airport where he was just about to board his flight back home to the US. He was being held for questioning there. Only after he admitted to his crimes was he allowed to leave the country. The week-long surveillance operation for his arrest was conducted by undercover Antiquities Authority agents. They first saw the suspect selling items to tourists in the hotel where he was staying. After they were sure that the sale was completed, they searched his hotel room, along with belongings, and uncovered hundreds of ancient artifacts they believed to have been stolen by antiquities robbers from archeological sites throughout the country. Early in the investigation, officials stopped the tourists whom the suspect was in charge of guiding, and discovered that 20 of them were in possession of illegally obtained artifacts, all with the intent of taking them out of the country without permits. The tourists quickly told who they got the items from and the information confirmed the officials' suspicions. The tourists' items included bronze and silver coins dating back to the Second Temple period, clay oil lamps from the Roman and Byzantine eras, and ancient glass and ceramic vessels. 'The sale of antiquities without a permit and the export of antiquities from Israel without permission are criminal offenses for which the penalty prescribed by law is up to three years imprisonment,' said Amir Ganor, director of the Antiquities Authority’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery". 'Those buying antiquities from unauthorized dealers place themselves and their money at risk, purchase antiquities at exorbitant prices and are actually encouraging antiquities robbery and the plundering of the country’s history,' he said". I think that people that do these kinds of things are not very bright. Obviously if you try to leave a country you don't belong to, or any country for that matter, with that much money and ancient artifacts that a civilian would never legally have you are going to get caught. The authorities are not stupid. It's one thing to do one sale or something small, but when you illegally sell artifacts to over 20 people consecutively, you're going to raise a red flag. Committing these kinds of crimes is not smart, even if you're one of the smartest people in the world; you'll eventually get caught. I think it's wrong to break the law anyways. This guy had better hope he has a good sob story for the jury or something like that when he goes to court because this case is pretty much open and shut. Which, for him, will mean three years in prison.
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