Tainos artifacts in Dominican Republic They were seized in May 2008 in Florida
Immigration Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Florida, Puerto Rico and Memphis confiscated 66 pre-Columbian Taino artifacts, many dating back 2,000 years, arrested the smugglers, and returned to Dominican Republic authorities.
The objects were seized in May, 2008 during the operation that began in Florida.
The artifacts were displayed in the United States embassy in Santo Domingo by ambassador Raul Yzaguirre and ICE International Affairs director Luis Alvarez.
In a joint statement the two agencies of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an investigation led agents to the millenarian artifacts in Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Memphis, Tennessee.
Agents who inspected 11 boxes that arrived in Orlando from Dominican Republic found what they called “stone figurines”, consigned to an individual in Jacksonville.
Dominican Republic Live, 15.09.11, 10.15am
