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This is an archive article published on November 20, 2022

US District Attorney returns 192 stolen artefacts to Pakistan

The items returned include a Gandharan statue from Pakistan that showed a maitreya and Mehrgarh dolls that were stolen from a Pakistani Neolithic archaeological site and brought to New York County.

Gandharan statue from Pakistan that was looted and showed a maitreya, or enlightened form of the Buddha, and Mehrgarh dolls, dated 3500–2600 BCE that were stolen from a Pakistani Neolithic archaeological site. ( Photo source: manhattanda.org)Gandharan statue from Pakistan that was looted and showed a maitreya, or enlightened form of the Buddha, and Mehrgarh dolls, dated 3500–2600 BCE that were stolen from a Pakistani Neolithic archaeological site. ( Photo source: manhattanda.org)

The Manhattan District Attorney has returned over 190 artefacts worth a combined $3.4 million to Pakistan, a majority of which were seized as part of an investigation into art dealer Subhash Kapoor.

In a press release on November 10, DA Alvin L Bragg said, “Subhash Kapoor was one of the world’s most prolific antiquities traffickers, yet thanks to the work of our dedicated investigators and analysts, we have been able to recover thousands of pieces looted by his network. We will continue to pursue full accountability against Mr. Kapoor and his co-conspirators, who showed a blatant disregard for the cultural and historic significant of these antiquities.”

As many as 192 artefacts were returned to Pakistan. Of these, 187 of the artefacts were seized as part of the investigation into Kapoor, while the remaining ones were found as a result of other ongoing criminal investigations. The repatriation ceremony, where the artefacts were returned, was attended by Ayesha Ali, the Pakistani consul general in New York, and Thomas Acocella, the assistant special agent in charge of US Homeland Security Investigations.

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The items returned include a Gandharan statue from Pakistan that was looted and showed a maitreya, or enlightened form of the Buddha, and Mehrgarh dolls, dated 3500–2600 BCE that were stolen from a Pakistani Neolithic archaeological site and brought to New York County.

A special court in Kumbakonam in November 2022 found Kapoor and his associates guilty of receiving and dealing in stolen Indian artefacts and conspiring to sell them. The US, too, had issued a warrant for Kapoor’s arrest in 2012 and had requested his extradition from India in 2020.

The DA’s office has returned 876 artefacts worth over $89 million to 15 nations this year. The Artefacts Trafficking Unit has returned about 2,300 antiquities, worth more than $200 million, to 22 nations since its creation.

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