Stolen artifacts worth more than $100 million returned to India

Nearly 10 years after federal investigators were tipped off about a shipment of stolen antiquities arriving in the United States in boxes labeled "marble garden table sets," more than 200 artifacts were returned to the Indian government on Monday.

Homeland Security Investigation's Operation Hidden Idol resulted in the arrest of six people and the recovery of more than $100 million worth of ancient artifacts, ABC News reports. The items included terra cotta pieces, religious statues, and bronzes, some of the objects more than 2,000 years old. One item, a statue of Saint Manikkavichavakar, was stolen from the Sivan Temple in Chennai, India, and is estimated to be worth $1.5 million.

During a joint ceremony on Monday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch presented more than 200 artifacts to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, "The United States is committed to ensuring that no nation is robbed of the objects that inform its identity, shape its traditions, and inspire its citizens." U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the shipment that got the investigation started was allegedly imported by Subhash Kapoor, a former art dealer based in New York. He is now in India, awaiting trial on charges of stealing rare artifacts worth millions from several countries. Five others were arrested in connection to the stolen antiquities, and one item allegedly brought into the U.S. through the scheme was found in the Honolulu Museum and given to authorities, ABC News reports.

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