A Kharkiv resident will face trial in Bukovina for attempting to smuggle Scythian and Sarmatian artifacts to Germany.
Prosecutors have submitted an indictment to the court against a 31-year-old resident of Kharkiv region for an attempted smuggling of cultural valuables. This was reported by the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office, as stated by UNN.
Details
It is noted that the accused attempted to ship cultural valuables to Germany under the guise of ordinary souvenirs, utilizing international postal delivery services.
Meanwhile, the driver of the international shipping company, unaware that cultural valuables were in his vehicle, submitted a customs declaration upon attempting to cross the Ukraine-Romania border at the "Porubne-Siret" checkpoint, stating that he was not transporting any goods prohibited for export from Ukraine or those subject to mandatory declaration.
However, during a customs inspection of the vehicle's luggage compartment, 124 archaeological items were discovered and seized.
According to expert conclusions, out of the seized artifacts, 83 are cultural valuables from various eras, including: jewelry, crosses, amulets, belt buckles, fibulae, arrowheads, needles, fasteners, and other household and cultural items from the periods of Kievan Rus, the Roman Empire, Scythians, Sarmatians, Chernyakhiv and Penkov cultures, as well as from the Middle Ages and Vikings.
The pre-trial investigation in this criminal case is being conducted by investigators from the Security Service of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region.
Reminder
Law enforcement officials prevented the illegal sale of rare jewelry from the era of the Great Migration of Peoples. Artifacts belonging to the nobility of barbarian kingdoms will be handed over to the National Museum of History of Ukraine.