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.