Afghan relics booming business

LONDON - It cost £40 ($112) from an antique market in central London, not a bad price for a 4000-year-old relic of an ancient civilisation in what is now northern Afghanistan.

What made the metal axe handle stand out was the fact that it was identical to artefacts in a collection in the British Museum.

Those there were in a secure storage area, among many cartons of looted Afghan artefacts impounded by customs officers at ports and airports.

Scotland Yard's arts and antiques squad say London is the number one destination for stolen Afghan antiquities and the seized material is the tip of the iceberg. Most finds its way onto the open market. Experts believe the objects seized are worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Most have not been properly examined and many are corroded with age.

Police estimate that three to four tonnes of Afghan antiquities have been seized by both police and customs over the past few years. Most have been taken from historic sites, bought cheaply by dealers from peasants, taken from Afghanistan illegally, often through neighbouring countries.

The axe handle has been handed over to the museum for eventual return.

- INDEPENDENT