by Shaw, Bransford & Roth, P.C.
March 11, 2010
In a ceremony at the National Geographic Society, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) returned an ancient sarcophagus to the Arab Republic of Egypt and its Embassy. The colorful artifact, devoid of its original contents, was detained by CBP during routine inspections of goods coming into the U.S. and turned over to ICE, which investigated its path through the international art world. The item was eventually seized for return to Egypt. The National Geographic Society, which has a long partnership with the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and its Secretary General Dr. Zahi Hawass, hosted the official repatriation of the item to Egypt by Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for ICE John Morton and CPB Assistant Commissioner Allen Gina.
"There is nothing new about the theft and trafficking of cultural artifacts. Sadly, these practices are older than this sarcophagus," said ICE Assistant Secretary Morton. "But our 21st-Century global cooperation among law enforcement, museums, academics and organizations such as National Geographic Society, make it far more risky for those who would profit from selling stolen cultural property."
"Through the facilitation and enforcement of U.S. trade laws, this artifact will provide the Egyptian people a key to their past," said CBP Assistant Commissioner Gina. "Customs and Border Protection is pleased to work in partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce U.S. customs law and to return priceless artifacts to their lawful owner."
The coffin was intercepted by CBP at Miami International Airport in 2008 and initially scrutinized for agricultural concerns. An agriculture specialist, concerned that the coffin would require a permit, referred it to the Trade Enforcement Team and ICE. CBP and ICE contacted the importer to establish whether the coffin had been exported legally from Egypt. ICE tracked the sale of the sarcophagus to a U.S. citizen, who was neither an art dealer nor broker. He claimed to have sold it already to a Canadian. Neither the importer nor the Spanish Gallery that exported it could establish its legal export from Egypt or when or how it would have left Egypt. Given the absence of a credible provenance, the item was determined to be owned by Egypt through its Cultural Patrimony Laws. The item was seized as imported stolen property. ICE worked through its attaché offices in Egypt and Spain to provide the information that led to the forfeiture of the property.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, CBP and ICE Miami were able to successfully counter a legal challenge by the Spanish art gallery that had sold the sarcophagus. The challenge was later abandoned before it could go to trial.
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