Looted ancient Egyptian objects discovered in Valencia

ANCIENT Egyptian treasures were among 2,200 looted artefacts worth millions of euros seized by police in a Europe-wide operation.

In Spain police discovered 36 objects suspected to have been stolen from archaeological sites hidden inside cheap vases in a shipping container in Valencia.

They included a statue of the goddess Isis and a vase covered in hieroglyphics. The Spanish finds are worth up to €300,000.

The container had been shipped from Alexandria in Egypt, leading police to suspect the items had been looted illegally from ancient sites.

Several arrests of Spanish and Egyptian citizens were made and they now face charges of trafficking historic objects, money laundering and being part of a criminal group.

The operation was part of a Europe-wide crack down in 14 countries in which 35 arrests were made. Thousands of antiques shops, auction houses and arts dealers were inspected for potentially illegally obtained ancient objects.