Thailand seizes Cambodian relics

Thailand seizes Cambodian relics

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thai customs officials said on Monday they had seized more than eight tons of Cambodian artifacts smuggled into Bangkok by ship from Singapore.

Acting on a tip-off, customs officers searched a warehouse at Klongtoey port over the weekend and found artifacts worth millions of dollars on the blackmarket, the deputy director of the Customs Department, Wanchai Pussadej, told reporters.

Forty-three objects were found packed in 29 cases. They included stone sculptures that had been part of staircases of some ancient Hindu temples in Cambodia and rare Buddha statues, he said.

The importer was being questioned by customs officials pending charges of trading in stolen artifacts, he added.