German Diver Appears In Court Accused Of Looting A Shipwreck

THE public prosecutor’s office of Mallorca is demanding two years in prison for a German diver.

The man is accused of looting a 1st-century Roman shipwreck off the coast of Porto Cristo.

The man denied diving to the boat at his trial in Palma on Thursday, July 27, and claimed he found the items “very close to the beach”.

Two experts from the islands council, on the other hand, came to the conclusion that the pieces “undoubtedly” came from the site and stated that the accused’s behaviour there caused “irreversible damage”,  Mallorca Zeitung reported.

The accused, a 52-year-old, was arrested by the Guardia Civil on January 30, 2019.

A patrol found him armed with a metal detector as he was emerging from the water after a dive near the wreck.

He admitted he had “pieces of metal and ceramic” with him, but denied stealing them from the wreck.

“I found them on the beach, not on the ship. I’ve never seen them before,” he said. He stated he did not know that they were relics.

After his arrest, the diver told officers he had other pieces at home and offered to show the artefacts to them.

Officers found several boxes full of coins, rings, earrings and pieces of metal in his apartment. The lost property allegedly came from different beaches on the island.

“For me it was a hobby to clean up the sea and do something good,” said the accused.

In court, however, he is now charged with the fact that the other items also come from dives in the wreck of Ses Llumetes and other underwater sites on Mallorca, which the accused denied.

Guardia Civil officers handling the case stated that the accused “dismantled and looted the wreck” and that he emerged directly from the site where the wreck was found.

After the man’s arrest, a Guardia Civil diver examined the site and found a diving bag that contained “typical nails from Roman ships, and coins”.

The trial continues.