SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Eight men have been charged in connection with an antiquities smuggling case in North Macedonia, where ancient artifacts have been unearthed in illegal digs across the country to be sold to foreign buyers, the prosecutor’s office said on Friday.

The excavations and alleged illegal sales took place in 2020 and 2021. The eight were arrested in September 2021 following police raids on their homes and other properties linked to them at 10 locations in the city of Bitola, to the southwest, and the city of Tetovo, to the northwest.

During the raids, police seized a large number of artifacts, including antique figurines and jewelry, as well as firearms, metal detectors and computer hard drives.

The prosecution said in a statement that the two main suspects allegedly carried out dozens of illegal excavations from May 2020 to supply buyers in Albania, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Turkey and the United States.

Six of the eight are under house arrest while the two suspects who were allegedly the organizers are in police custody. All eight have been charged with destroying archaeological sites and violating laws protecting antiquities. The two alleged ringleaders have also been charged with forming a criminal organization and face a combined maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

No trial date has been set.

Antiquities are protected by law in North Macedonia, and only public institutions are allowed to excavate and possess them.

The Associated Press