Customs officers display some of the 24 human skulls, believed to be from Papua and Kalimantan, after they were stopped from being posted to the Netherlands. Photo: Reuters
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https://scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2132796/heads-indonesia-foils-bizarre-human-skull-smuggling-attempt Southeast Asia
Heads up: Indonesia foils bizarre human skull smuggling attempt
Customs officers display some of the 24 human skulls, believed to be from Papua and Kalimantan, after they were stopped from being posted to the Netherlands. Photo: Reuters
Customs officials on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali said on Friday that they have foiled an attempt to mail 24 elaborately decorated human skulls to the Netherlands.
The Customs Department said that cartons containing the skulls were intercepted on two separate dates in January. The skulls are believed to be culturally-significant artefacts from other parts of Indonesia.
They were labelled as manufactured from synthetic materials but found to be human after being examined by experts from the Balinese Cultural Heritage Conservation Centre.
Customs officers display some of the 24 human skulls, believed to be from Papua and Kalimantan, after they were stopped from being posted to the Netherlands. Photo: AP
Customs official Ni Aniek said the skulls are probably from Papua, a Melanesian region that makes up easternmost Indonesia, and Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, home to indigenous Dayak peoples.
Customs officers display some of the 24 human skulls, believed to be from Papua and Kalimantan, after they were stopped from being posted to the Netherlands. Photo: AP
No one has been arrested.
The department said the cultural heritage centre will decide what to do with the skulls.