Twenty-one priceless ancient coins are being returned to Greece after they were found during an inspection by the authorities at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced.
The coins were stolen from Greece several years ago and were brought to the U.S. in order to be put up for illegal auction through black market circles. Nevertheless, the authorities prevented their transfer from Chicago’s main airport and on December 21, a ceremony took place in the presence of Consul General of Greece Emmanuel Koubarakis at the HSI offices in the Chicago suburb of Lombard.
HSI Director Sean Fitzgerald told Chicago’s Fox32: “This is a very big deal. This is the largest repatriation of Greek coins in recent history for Homeland Security Investigations… I can’t put a price on them because if they got on a black market auction we’d be talking tens and tens of thousands of dollars… This is really a theft and pillaging of cultural heritage. These countries want our help, and they need our help to bring back their history for them.”
Read more at thenationalherald.com
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Tony Webster
