Greek Police Officer Accused of being part of Corrupt Antiquities Smuggling Ring

Buy one of these and you'll obviously risk
being involved in a network of corruption
and cultural racketeering (Greek police photo of seized statue).

Cultural racketeering can obviously only thrive through corruption of those who should be doing their best to stop it. Middlemen and dealers involved in the trade in illicit antiquities are to blame for their corrupting influence, and those buying them are part of the chain. News is coming out of Greece this evening of another individual caught up in this dirty business:

A police officer from Greece’s antiquities protection department has been arrested, accused of being part of a smuggling ring that was trying to sell an ancient marble statue worth an estimated 1 million euros. Police said Thursday that the 49-year-old was arrested along with eight other suspects following raids and searches at 11 areas in greater Athens and two others in towns in central and northern Greece. The almost intact 1,900-year-old Greco-Roman era statue of a male figure measures 65 centimeters from head to knee and is being kept at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Police did not say whether the statue had been stolen or illegally excavated, but added that a “large number” of less valuable ancient artifacts had also been seized.

Source:
'Policeman among other eight arrested for antiquities trafficking', Ekathimerini.com , Thursday Jul 24, 2014

Hat tip to Dorothy Lobel King.