Customs Agents In Louisville Intercept Ancient Artifacts From Smugglers

Instead of the drugs, weapons, and counterfeit goods criminals typically try to smuggle in the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Louisville found treasures that are hundreds of years old.

“I’m extremely proud that our officers were able to stop priceless artifacts from being lost forever,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operations at the Chicago Field Office, in a statement.

On July 24, agents intercepted a shipment of 13 ancient artifacts from the 10th century.

The shipment from Mexico was headed to Sumter, South Carolina. It contained one stone skull and 12 adze, similar to an axe, dated from Post-classic to the Aztec era, or from roughly 1100 AD through 1532 AD, according to an expert CBP consulted.

“Customs and Border Protection will continue to use our border authority to identify and rescue precious antiquities being smuggled by those who profit on the theft of historical and cultural property and return them to their rightful owners,” Sutton-Burke added.

It's legal to bring ancient artifacts and art works into the U.S., but you need documents and receipts to prove that they weren't stolen or looted from a historical site.

Since 2020, the CBP has recorded 21 seizures of cultural property valued at over $18 million.