The BBC reports that 52 people have been arrested in 68 police raids across Spain for illegal possession of archaeological antiquities. More than 300,000 items have been recovered, including "bronze statues, ancient coins and columns," mostly from sites of Iberian, Roman, Moorish and Visigoth provenance in region near Seville, Cadiz, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga and Badajoz. The report notes that the police began an investigation after they "uncovered a group of people smuggling historical objects from undersea sites in the Gulf of Cadiz."
Thirty of those arrested are described in the report as "thieves," nine as "collectors" and thirteen as "accomplices."
