Roman marble bust among 11,000 stolen artefacts recovered in European crackdown

A view of several religious icons that were among the stolen artefacts that were recovered during a crackdown on international art trafficking, at an unknown location, in Greece, in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 4, 2023. Courtesy of Europol/Handout via REUTERS

A crackdown on international art trafficking has recovered 11,049 stolen artefacts, including ancient coins and books and a marble bust believed to represent the niece of a Roman emperor, European police force Europol said on Thursday.

Sixty people were arrested in the raids across 14 European countries last year, part of so-called Operation Pandora launched by Europol in 2016 and renewed annually since then.