Europe-wide operation dismantled a years-long antiquities trafficking network, Bulgarian officials said on Thursday. Europol coordinated the crackdown across seven countries—Albania, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom—and involved 131 searches of homes, vehicles and bank vaults.
Authorities seized more than 3,000 artefacts, including ancient gold and silver coins and other antiquities valued at over €100 million, along with artworks, weapons, documents, electronic devices, substantial cash sums and investment gold. The money-laundering probe traced more than $1 billion (€866 million) in illicit funds connected to the network. In total, 35 arrests were announced, with 20 suspects facing charges such as antiquities trafficking and money laundering, Bulgarian Prosecutor Angel Kanev said at a press briefing.
Judicial and law enforcement officials from the seven nations carried out the operation, which was supported by Eurojust and Europol. Italian authorities alone recovered approximately 300 historical artefacts, according to Paolo Befera, deputy head of the Carabinieri’s cultural heritage protection unit. The network operated across western Europe, the Balkans, the US and elsewhere, investigators said. The Balkans and Italy are known hotbeds for looting Greek and Roman heritage, underscoring the ongoing risk to Europe’s archaeological patrimony.