Customs officials recover idol looted from Indian temple


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

NEW YORK (AP) — Customs officials in New York have recovered a bronze religious statue from the 11th or 12th century that they say was looted from a temple in India.

The New York office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday an anonymous collector voluntarily surrendered the idol. It says the 2 1/2-foot idol was looted from a temple in Tamil Nadu at the southern tip of India and will be returned to India.

Customs agents say the collector bought the object in 2006 and was given false provenance papers.

ICE says the bronze statue would sell for as much as $1 million if offered on the market.

The idol's recovery is part of a three-year investigation into former New York-based art dealer Subhash Kapoor, who's awaiting trial in India on looting charges.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent Business stories

Related topics

Business
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast