Over 66,000 stolen Chinese artefacts recovered last year amid trafficking crackdown says government

The crackdown was launched by the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) and the Ministry of Public Security in 2020

Authorities said they arrested 61 out of the 62 most-wanted suspects of cultural relic theft

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This statue of a Buddha head caused controversy in 2018 when it was removed from Sotheby’s New York autumn auction because it looked similar to a precious statue stolen from China’s Longmen Grottos in Henan province. Photo: Twitter

Published: 9:00am, 22 Apr 2022

Chinese authorities announced last week they recovered over 66,000 stolen cultural relics in 2021, including catching 650 gangs who were looting and trafficking the artefacts.

The National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) and the Ministry of Public Security said the two agencies had solved 3,000 cases during a crackdown last year and had arrested all but one of the 62 most-wanted suspects they identified.

Song Xinchao, the deputy director of the NCHA, said he hoped the “powerful campaign” had acted as a deterrent against future crimes.

“Potential hazards threatening the safety of cultural relics are still common,” he said. “Our mission remains challenging.”

A before and after composite image of an ancient statue whose head was stolen in January 2021. Photo: Baidu

The NCHA said it found 97 new “cultural relic safety and accident” cases in 2021 after inspections, including 82 theft or robbery cases. The rest were either incidents of neglect, fire hazards or accidents.