Peruvian Artifacts Trafficking Prosecution is Worth Watching For Its Use of Smuggling Law

Rick St Hilaire (April 5th) suggests that an ongoing "Peruvian Artifacts Trafficking Prosecution is Worth Watching". Four defendants, two in Peru and two in West Valley City, Utah are accused of illegally smuggling and transporting Peruvian artefacts as the result of an HSI sting..One Peruvian is recorded as "stating he bribes officials in Peru in order to get the artifacts out of Peru [...and...] knows where to look for pottery buried in the ground and that he acquires some of his pottery via this method". The man also "has a contact with the Institute of National Culture in Peru who provides Abanto-Sarmiento with authentic certifications stating all of his pottery are replicas", which is then used to illegally export genuine antiquities out of Peru. Interestingly in this case the CCPIA bilateral cultural property MOU between Peru and the USA is not playing a peart in this case, US authorities are trying to use customs legislation.