Penalties imposed for illicit dealing of antiquated art relics in Hamburg
In the trial back in March, two aged defendants, who were 84 and 88 years old, attempted to sell some precious artifacts to a curator. These artifacts consisted of a golden drinking horn from the Thracian era, golden belt pieces from the Sassanid empire, and a massive Hittite stele weighing over 600 kilos, among other items.
As per the prosecution, these treasures were allegedly stolen and illegally traded. The public prosecutor's office claimed that the curator feigned interest in the offer before secretly contacting the cops. Initially, three other individuals were charged with extortion in this case. Unfortunately, one of them died, and charges were not brought against another. The proceedings against the third individual were dropped.
Apparently, the 84-year-old defendant was known as a European-wide dealer of ancient cultural artifacts. Prosecutors accused him of teaming up with the other defendants in 2012 to sell valuable ancient art pieces to museums in Hamburg. The trio reportedly demanded a staggering 1.5 million Euros in cash for the golden Thracian drinking horn alone.
