Guatemalan Authority Finds Hundreds Of Artefacts At Homes Of Foreign Citizens

Illustration of artifacts. (Wikimedia Commons/Gary Todd)

JAKARTA - More than 1,200 Mayan antiques were found in the homes of two Americans in Guatemala, authorities said on Thursday, days after the same couple was arrested and later released for stealing historical artifacts.

Authorities on Wednesday found 722 archaeological pieces in various sizes and materials at the homes ofrudian Jolluck and Giorgio Salvidor Rossilli in Antigua Guatemala, as well as 500 smaller pieces, following an investigation into crimes against Guatemala's cultural heritage.

Neither Jolluck nor Rossilli are available for comment.

Guatemalan authorities said they also confiscated documents, books, laptops, compact discs, two cell phones, and bird dolls, possibly quetzals, symbols of Guatemala.

The pair, who were not at home during the raid, were released on bail after paying a fine of 50,000 queztals (6,400 US dollars) last Tuesday. They were arrested the day before while transporting 166 pre-Hispanic artifacts with their vehicles.

The prosecutor's office said the couple could avoid criminal proceedings because they were citizens of the United States.

Last Thursday, Jolluck was stopped while trying to leave Guatemala with two pre-Hispanic pieces.

Moises Ortiz, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said the evidence gathered at home was an important step in the trial. Guatemala's prosecutor's office will have three months to investigate the couple.

The artifacts found this week were sent to the Ministry of Culture for protection and analysis, authorities said.

At a UNESCO conference in Mexico City two months ago, cultural ministers from around the world pledged to step up efforts to repatriate stolen and illegally traded artifacts to their home countries, many of which currently remain in museums or private collections.