U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today returned cultural artifacts to the Government of Egypt. The 79 ancient artifacts came from a region in Egypt known as Ma'adi, which is an archeological site in Egypt identifying an ancient civilization dating back to 3,900 - 3,600 B.C.
The objects were returned in a repatriation ceremony this morning by Peter J. Smith, ICE special agent-in-charge in New York, and were received on behalf of the Egyptian Government by the Honorable Ambassador Hussein Mubarak, Consul General for Egypt in New York, and Mr. Attiya Radwan, the Head of the Central Department for Upper Egypt Monuments.
In October 2006, ICE received a tip from the Art Loss Register, a London-based company with offices in New York, about the sale of the Ma'adi artifacts to a U.S. antiquities dealer. A subsequent ICE investigation resulted in the federal criminal conviction of Edward George Johnson, who pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing and selling stolen antiquities.
"When Edward George Johnson stole these items from Egypt, he robbed a nation of part of its history," said Peter J. Smith, special agent-in-charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in New York. "The repatriation of the Ma'adi artifacts reunites the people of Egypt with an important piece of their cultural heritage."
Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
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