ISLAMABAD: Customs officers at the Islamabad Airport in Pakistan seized a large black plastic bag from an outbound passenger late last month but left the expert inspection of its contents to archaeologists.
“It was smart of them to bring the catch to us,” Director General of the Department of Archaeology and Museums Fazaldad Kakar said yesterday. The bag contained 75kg of old coins, seals, metal and bronze items, ornaments and numerous counterfeit necklaces and seals.
“In my opinion this piece is roughly 2,500 year old,” he said admiring a simple earthen pot with decorative patterns. There were four more such “original items” in the lot he believed came from the prehistoric settlements in Baluchistan.
But Ahsan Ullah caught trying to smuggle out the artefacts on May 27 was allowed to board his flight TG350 to Bangkok, according to a report.
“A passenger is not detained and made to miss flight in such cases. But the belongings are confiscated if the customs doubt that the passenger cannot carry certain items out of the country such as these... Verifying them is a lengthy process,” explained a customs officer. internews
