$6M Egyptian Statue Seized In Smuggling Case Linked To Edgewater Collector
BALTIMORE, Md. — The United States government secured a default judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, completing the forfeiture of 14 ancient Egyptian artifacts illegally smuggled into the United States.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the judgment with Evan Campanella, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore, and Stephen Maloney, executive director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center.
The smuggled artifacts include amulets, stone figurines, a vase and an Old Kingdom limestone funerary statue appraised at about $6 million. Officials said the statue likely originated from an archaeological site in Saqqara or Giza, royal cemeteries near the ancient city of Memphis in present-day Egypt.
CBP officers discovered and seized the artifacts at several international airports in the United States, where they were in transit from overseas shippers destined for private collectors.
According to the government's complaint, between August 2020 and April 2021, CBP identified the artifacts while inspecting parcels from overseas shippers transiting through airports in Anchorage, Alaska; Cincinnati, Ohio; and New York City. The ultimate destination for at least one of the shipments was a private collector in Edgewater, Maryland.
Officials said the shipping paperwork for the parcels included deceptive and inaccurate descriptions such as "home décor," "stone garden statue" or "decoration," and failed to state the true origin or value of the artifacts. Historians and appraisers later confirmed the authenticity of the ancient Egyptian pieces.
In similar cases, the Justice Department has worked to return smuggled artifacts to their rightful owners, the people of the country of origin.
"This litigation highlights one of the benefits of civil asset forfeiture and is an important milestone toward eliminating smuggled cultural property from the U.S. art market," Hayes said. "This office is committed to combating the black-market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of ancient artifacts, and will use all available tools, including asset forfeiture, to disrupt illicit trade in antiquities."
"These ancient artifacts are more than just relics of the past; they are irreplaceable pieces of global cultural heritage that tell the story of human civilization," Campanella said. "The deceptive practices used to smuggle these treasures into the United States not only violate our import laws but also undermine efforts to preserve and protect the integrity of cultural history."
"This case exemplifies the fine work of the women and men of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and our National Targeting Center in identifying and dismantling illicit networks that exploit global trade routes," Maloney said. "The recovery of this ancient Egyptian statue, valued at $6 million, underscores CBP's commitment to protecting cultural heritage and working collaboratively with our partners to identify those who seek to profit from theft and smuggling."
Hayes commended HSI's Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Unit for investigating the case. She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven T. Brantley, who litigated the case, along with law clerk Amy Rappole and paralegal Nicole Orlovitz, who provided support.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities and fraud-reporting resources, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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