Turkish police detain 5 suspects, seize artifacts in anti-trafficking raids

STORY: Turkish police detain 5 suspects, seize artifacts in anti-trafficking raids DATELINE: July 15, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:09 LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Istanbul 2. various of police officers seizing the historical artifacts in the house they raided in Istanbul, Türkiye 3. various of police officers searching the suspects' car 4. various of the artifacts exhibited at the police headquarters in Istanbul, Türkiye STORYLINE: Turkish police have launched a sweeping operation in Istanbul against smugglers of historical artifacts over the last month, seizing a large number of coins and copies of the Bible and Old Testament, local media reported on Friday. The police detained five suspects during the raids in eight districts, including Fatih, Kartal, and Umraniye, the Demiroren news agency reported, adding that the suspects are facing the charge of "violating the law on the protection of cultural heritage." They also seized more than 4,000 coins dating back to the Greek,

Turkish police recover thousands of artifacts in anti-trafficking raid

STORY: Turkish police recover thousands of artifacts in anti-trafficking raid DATELINE: June 24, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:30 LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of Istanbul 2. various of police officers unpacking the historical artifacts seized during the operation 3. various of gold, silver, and bronze coins and other artifacts seized STORYLINE: The Turkish police captured two suspects and recovered thousands of artifacts during a massive operation in Istanbul targeting trafficking in stolen antiquities, local media reported Friday. A total of 2,295 gold, silver and bronze coins of different sizes dating back to the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires were seized in the operation launched as part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal antiquities trafficking and smuggling, the Ihlas News Agency reported. The police also found 44 arrowheads and various terracotta items dating back to the four empires, the report said. Early this month, Turkish security forces seiz