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Turkish customs officers intercepted coins, arrowheads, rings and other artifacts hidden in trucks at two border crossings, preventing their removal from the country.
Turkish customs authorities have seized more than 7,000 historical artifacts during two separate anti-smuggling operations at the Ipsala and Kapikule border crossings in Edirne, northwestern Türkiye, preventing the cultural objects from being taken abroad.
The operations, carried out by Customs Enforcement teams under the Ministry of Trade, uncovered ancient coins, arrowheads, rings and various accessories concealed inside trucks. The seized objects were confiscated, while judicial investigations were launched by the relevant public prosecutors' offices.
At the Ipsala Customs Gate, which connects Türkiye with Greece, officers flagged a truck preparing to leave the country for an X-ray inspection after identifying potential risks.
The scan revealed suspicious concentrations inside the vehicle, prompting officers to carry out a detailed search. They subsequently discovered coins, arrowheads, rings and other accessories hidden in a storage cabinet used for food and supplies inside the truck's trailer.
A separate inspection at the Kapikule Customs Gate, another major border crossing in Edirne, also led to the discovery of historical objects.
Customs officers directed a second truck for X-ray screening and uncovered undeclared coins believed to qualify as cultural heritage artifacts.
Authorities confiscated the objects recovered from both vehicles, and judicial investigations were opened into the incidents.
Following the operations, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy highlighted the importance of cooperation between government institutions in preventing cultural heritage trafficking.
In a statement shared on social media, Ersoy said efforts to bring back artifacts previously smuggled overseas must go hand in hand with measures to prevent cultural objects from leaving Türkiye in the first place.
He emphasized that each artifact represented a unique connection to the country's past and carried particular significance when preserved in its place of origin.
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"Every artifact is a unique legacy that retains its meaning in the land to which it belongs and strengthens our connection with the past," Ersoy said.
The minister thanked Trade Minister Omer Bolat and the Customs Enforcement teams involved in the operations, praising their vigilance and careful inspections.
Ersoy also reaffirmed the government's commitment to protecting historical objects through cooperation among public institutions, saying Türkiye would continue working to prevent its cultural heritage from disappearing along smuggling routes and preserve it for future generations.
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