Battered Statue Head Returned to Egypt

Switzerland has returned to Egypt a fragment of a statue of the pharaoh Ramesses II, that had been confiscated in Geneva as part of cantonal criminal proceedings. (Anon, 'Switzerland returns fragment of statue of Ramesses II to Egypt', Swiss info.ch, July 4, 2023)

The sculpture of Ramesses II is part of a group statue in which the pharaoh is seated alongside various Egyptian deities, the Federal Office of Culture said in a statement on Monday. The fragment was stolen between the late 1980s and early 1990s from the Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos. It passed through several countries before arriving in Switzerland.

So, how DID a freshly surfaced (stolen) artefact actually manage to circulate through the antiquities markets of "several countries' without any genuine legitimsing paperwork? How? The antiquities market appears to be a murky cesspit in which it seems such things happen all the time. Prove me wrong.