Eleven gold pieces worth more than 60 million euros and belonging to Ukraine’s historical heritage have been recovered in Madrid, Spanish police said on Monday.
The pieces, which left Ukraine before 2016 after an exhibition in Kiev, were “stolen and illegally exported and were to be sold clandestinely in Madrid,” the National Police explained in a statement.
In addition to recovering the jewelry, police “arrested five people and dismantled a criminal network dedicated to the illegal trade in cultural assets from Ukraine,” the text said.
Three detainees are Spanish and two others are Ukrainian. The joint operation of the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine was assisted by authorities from Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia and Cyprus.
The pieces belong to the Greco-Scythian culture of the 8th and 4th centuries BC and are being examined by specialized bodies.
Source: DN
