Thwarting the smuggling of more than 100 artifacts in Wasit

According to a statement, the Commission’s Investigation Department said, “The Commission’s investigation office in Wasit Governorate received information through one of its reporting outlets that some trespassers on an archaeological site located between the districts of Al-Numaniyah and Al-Ahrar in the province extracted antiquities and sold them through a smuggling network within the province.” without taking any legal action against them.

And the statement added, “The commission’s investigation office in Wasit governorate rushed to form a team to investigate and investigate the information received, and to move to the Antiquities Department, where it was found that the site was not fenced, unmaintained, or protected,” noting that “the results of the investigations were presented to the competent court, which in turn decided to open A case and investigating it according to Article (40 / First of the Antiquities and Heritage Law No. 55 of 2002).

He continued, “The decision included conducting an inspection at the archaeological site, searching for archaeological and heritage materials allegedly extracted, and seizing everything that constitutes a crime.” The operation also resulted in the seizure of (104) artifacts of different shapes and sizes.