Badger Bart
Sr. Member
- Mar 24, 2005
- 301
- 20
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=b40fef84-9b8d-4ecf-aa5c-0e38ecae831f&k=3851
Spanish police arrest three foreigners for allegedly removing sunken treasure
Canadian Press
Published: Saturday, February 04, 2006
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Three foreigners were arrested in Spain for allegedly removing sunken treasure illegally from underwater archaeological sites, including 17th-century cannon balls and ancient Roman stone anchors, police said Saturday.
The three suspects - two Hungarian men and an American woman - were heavily armed and used sophisticated equipment, including an underwater robot, sonar scanners and submarine metal detectors, to find their booty, said Col. Antonio Dichas, head of the southwestern port of Cadiz's Civil Guard.
The treasures, all confiscated by police, included 27 cannon balls from the 17th century, three Roman stone anchors from the 2nd century B.C., the neck of a Phoenician amphora and a bag of ordnance used during the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, Dichas told a news conference.
Police first became suspicious after noticing nozzles and hoses - used for removing items from the seabed - aboard a vessel that had been in dry dock in Puerto Sherry, near Cadiz.
That vessel was seized, along with another, the Louisa, that was moored in nearby Puerto de Santa Maria, Dichas told a news conference.
Several "precise" marine charts and maps, some photocopied from original manuscripts held in the historic Archive of the Indies in the city of Seville, were also found on board the boats, Interior Ministry official Sebastian Saucedo said.
Authorities also found an underwater robot valued at the equivalent of about $800,000 Cdn, eight submarine metal detectors, two seabed sonar scanners, 30 metres of suction tubes, two nozzles, four satellite-oriented global positioning devices, five computers and breathing tanks used in diving with compartments cut into them to conceal booty, police said.
Police also seized five M-16 assault rifles, a semiautomatic rifle and ammunition. Further arrests in connection with the case were possible, Dichas said. He did not identify the suspects in custody.
? The Canadian Press 2006
Spanish police arrest three foreigners for allegedly removing sunken treasure
Canadian Press
Published: Saturday, February 04, 2006
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Three foreigners were arrested in Spain for allegedly removing sunken treasure illegally from underwater archaeological sites, including 17th-century cannon balls and ancient Roman stone anchors, police said Saturday.
The three suspects - two Hungarian men and an American woman - were heavily armed and used sophisticated equipment, including an underwater robot, sonar scanners and submarine metal detectors, to find their booty, said Col. Antonio Dichas, head of the southwestern port of Cadiz's Civil Guard.
The treasures, all confiscated by police, included 27 cannon balls from the 17th century, three Roman stone anchors from the 2nd century B.C., the neck of a Phoenician amphora and a bag of ordnance used during the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, Dichas told a news conference.
Police first became suspicious after noticing nozzles and hoses - used for removing items from the seabed - aboard a vessel that had been in dry dock in Puerto Sherry, near Cadiz.
That vessel was seized, along with another, the Louisa, that was moored in nearby Puerto de Santa Maria, Dichas told a news conference.
Several "precise" marine charts and maps, some photocopied from original manuscripts held in the historic Archive of the Indies in the city of Seville, were also found on board the boats, Interior Ministry official Sebastian Saucedo said.
Authorities also found an underwater robot valued at the equivalent of about $800,000 Cdn, eight submarine metal detectors, two seabed sonar scanners, 30 metres of suction tubes, two nozzles, four satellite-oriented global positioning devices, five computers and breathing tanks used in diving with compartments cut into them to conceal booty, police said.
Police also seized five M-16 assault rifles, a semiautomatic rifle and ammunition. Further arrests in connection with the case were possible, Dichas said. He did not identify the suspects in custody.
? The Canadian Press 2006
