Eight people have been
charged in North Macedonia for being involved in illegal excavations, selling and smuggling antiquities in 2020 and 2021. The eight were arrested in September 2021 following police raids on their homes and other properties connected to them in 10 locations in the southwestern town of Bitola and the northwestern town of Tetovo. The antiquities are alleged to have been bought by buyers in Albania, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Turkey and (of course) the US. The police raids seized metal detectors and computer hard drives, a large number of artefacts ("including ancient figurines and jewelry"), as well as firearms.
Six of the eight are under house arrest while the two suspects believed to have been the organizers are in custody. All eight were charged with destruction of archaeological sites and violating laws protecting antiquities. The two alleged ringleaders were also charged with forming a criminal organization, and potentially face a combined maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
Who did the auction house say was the consigner of that antiquity? Who did they get it from? Is a buyer doing "due diligence" to reveal whether an artefact is legally-obtained or not
without ascertaining that? I would say not, what do you think?
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