FBI ANNOUNCES RETURN OF PRE-COLUMBIAN ARTIFACTS TO ECUADOR

Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office today announced the return of 168 pre-Columbian artifacts to the country of Ecuador. In a ceremony this afternoon attended by the United States Ambassador to Ecuador Heather Hodges and United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida R. Alexander Acosta, the artifacts were officially returned to the Ecuadorian government. Representing Ecuador were Juan Carlos Toledo, Consul General, Ecuadorian Consulate in Miami; Maria Veronica Endara, Vice Consul General, Ecuadorian Consulate in Miami; Abraham Cheing, Federal Prosecutor, Office of the Attorney General; José Chancay, Archeologist, National Institute of Ecuador's Cultural Assets; and Sergeant Leonardo Salas, Interpol Representative for the National Police of Ecuador.

Pre-Columbian art consists of pottery, baskets, jewelry, carvings, figurines and sculptures that pre-date the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. The pre-Columbian artifacts in this matter are from Ecuador and are considered by experts to range from 2,000 to 5,000 years old. Under Ecuadorian law, it is illegal to possess, sell, or transport out of Ecuador any historical artifacts, which are deemed property of the Ecuadorian government. Thus, it is a violation of United States law to smuggle artifacts into the United States without declaring them to Customs.

In February 2006, an e-mail was sent to the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Paris, France soliciting the sale of a pre-Columbian artifact collection that included over 600 pieces. The lead was forwarded through Interpol to the FBI.

The FBI in Miami initiated an undercover investigation, through its Rapid Deployment Art Crime Team, which was established in 2004. The team is composed of thirteen FBI special agents, each responsible for addressing art and cultural property crime cases in particular geographic regions. An Art Crime Team member is assigned to the Miami Field Office. Since 2004, the team has recovered over $134 million in cultural property.

On July 20, 2006, simultaneous search warrants were executed in Miami and in Ecuador to recover the artifacts. In Miami, 168 artifacts were recovered and in Ecuador, 583 artifacts were recovered.

The investigation and recovery of these artifacts are based on the combined efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including its Legal Attaché Offices in Santiago, Chile and Bogota, Colombia, the United States Department of State, the Miami-Dade Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the South Florida Cargo Theft Task Force. Special recognition is given to the Ecuadorian National Police and the Ecuadorian government for their exceptional work on this case.