Operazione “Pandora III” – Italia

L’Italia ha partecipato all’operazione internazionale denominata “Pandora III”,¹ coordinata centralmente da Interpol ed Europol e finalizzata a contrastare, simultaneamente in più Paesi, la commercializzazione di beni d’arte di provenienza illecita

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Nella settimana di azione coordinata, il Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, con il supporto dell’Arma territoriale e in collaborazione con la Direzione Centrale Antifrode e Controlli dell’Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli di Stato ha:

 

• effettuato 56 controlli ad aree terrestri d’interesse archeologico e monumentale;
• verificato 108 esercizi antiquariali, case d’asta, gallerie, restauratori e trasportatori;
• controllato 17 opere in transito presso porti, aeroporti e aree doganali;
• contestato 3 violazioni amministrative;
• identificato 116 persone;
• denunciato 26 persone in stato di libertà;
• verificato 329 beni nella Banca Dati dei beni culturali illecitamente sottratti, localizzando 17 opere su cui sono in corso indagini tese al recupero;
• sequestrato 367 beni culturali per un valore complessivo di € 5.510.000, tra cui:

 

Roma:

• 2 capitelli corinzi lignei del XVIII secolo, parziale provento del furto commesso, nel marzo 2013 in danno della chiesa “San Martino” di Rocca Santa Maria (TE);

Ancona:

• 2 opere falsamente attribuite all’artista Michelangelo Pistoletto;

Jesi (AN), Falconara Marittima (AN), San Severino Marche (MC) e Matelica (MC):

• 2 dipinti raffiguranti “Annunciazione, Madonna con angelo”, parziale provento del furto commesso, nel marzo 2001, ai danni di un privato di San Silvestro Curatone (MN) e “Deposizione di Cristo”, parziale provento del furto, commesso nel giugno 1974, ai danni della Chiesa “Santa Maria Assunta” di Castel d’Arco (MN);

Rimini:

• rocchio di colonne in pietra di natura archeologica;
• elemento architettonico;

Galatone (LE):

• 70 monete in bronzo di natura archeologica;
• 17 oggetti archeologici in bronzo tra cui 2 anelli;

Firenze:

• statuetta egizia del VII secolo a.C., raffigurante “Ushabti in Faience”, provento del furto, commesso nel dicembre 1964, in danno del Museo Civico Archeologico di Modena;

• dipinto dal titolo “Half Dollar”, falsamente attribuito all’artista Franco Angeli;

Firenze:

• dipinto del XVII secolo, raffigurante “Natura morta”, provento del furto, commesso nel novembre 1988, in danno di un antiquario di Firenze;

Taormina (ME):

• 109 monete in bronzo di natura archeologica;

Perugia:

• opera grafica, raffigurante “Sacco e Rosso”, falsamente attribuita all’artista Alberto Burri;

Modena:

• 33 volumi dell’Enciclopedie ou dictionnaie raisonnè des sciences….. del XVIII secolo, scritta da Diderot e D’Alembert, asportati in data imprecisata ad un privato di Città di Castello (PG);

Grottammare (AP):

• dipinto del XVI secolo, raffigurante “Madonna con Bambino e Santi”, dell’artista Cesura Pompeo, provento del furto, commesso nel settembre 2013, in danno di privato di Ofena (AQ);

Bronzolo (BZ):

• dipinto senza titolo falsamente attribuito all’artista Gerardo Dottori;

Ochsenhausen (Germania):

• statua raffigurante “Sant’Agata”, asportata nel 1984 dalla chiesa di Commezzadura (TN)

 

Udine e Bronzolo (UD):

• 3 statue policrome appartenenti alla Civiltà Maya;
• dipinto falsamente attribuito all’artista Georges Mathieu.

 

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1 Il Comunicato dell’Ufficio Stampa della direzione dell’Operazione Pandora:

 

Over 18,000 items seized and 59 arrests made in operation targeting cultural goods

Customs and other law enforcement authorities from 29 countries, coordinated by the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and supported by Europol, INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO), have joined forces against the trafficking of cultural goods.
During Operation Pandora III, law enforcement authorities assigned thousands of Police and Customs officers to focus on online market and key hot spots, with the aim of disrupting the activities of criminal groups involved in this form of trafficking.
In total, 59 individuals were arrested and over 18,000 cultural goods seized, including archaeological items, furniture, coins, paintings, musical instruments and sculptures. During the checks, objects that may facilitate the trafficking of cultural goods, such as metal detectors, were also seized.
The majority of the objects seized during the operation were from European countries; however, more than 30 objects originated in countries outside Europe such as Colombia, Egypt, Iraq and Morocco.
On‐the‐spot checks in 29 countries Fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural goods online is a key challenge. Criminal groups take advantage of digital platforms such as websites, social media and instant messaging apps to sell cultural artefacts of unlawful provenance.
Within the framework of Operation Pandora III, a cyber patrol week was organized by Dutch Police (Politie) as part of a multi‐disciplinary law enforcement initiative: 26 experts from 21 countries, Europol, INTERPOL and WCO mapped active targets and developed intelligence packages. A total of 169 suspicious websites were targeted, resulting in the seizure of 682 objects.
Between 22 and 30 October 2018, the 29 participating countries carried out numerous checks:
. Inspections in auction houses, art galleries, museums and private houses, resulting in 49 arrests and 67 administrative sanctions;
. Controls at ports, airports and border crossing points, resulting in four arrests, three administrative sanctions and 201 cultural goods seized;
. Inspections at hot spots (i.e. archaeological sites), leading to six arrests, 49 administrative sanctions and 909 cultural goods seized.
Operation highlights. Around 10,000 archaeological artefacts were seized as a result of a single successful investigation carried out by the Guardia Civil; 91 ceramic objects and 109 ancient coins were seized by the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Carabinieri TPC) in private premises and mail centres; in a single investigation, 419 cultural objects were seized by Polish Police (Policja);
. Dutch Police spotted a 15th century bible which had been stolen in Germany over 25 years ago.
This rare edition was seized and returned to Germany; Romanian Police (Poliția Română) seized 128 pieces of ancient Roman military personal equipment, 134 pieces of antique ceramics and 189 coins (from the Hellenistic, Roman Republican and Romain imperial periods) which had been stolen from archaeological sites;
. German Customs seized an ancient Mesopotamian crystal cylinder seal that had been shipped to Germany by post. The investigation is ongoing.
International coordination Given the transnational dimension of this crime, Europol, INTERPOL and WCO established 24/7 operational coordination units to support information sharing as well as to disseminate alerts and warnings and perform cross‐checks in different international and national databases. Europol (within the framework of EMPACT OPC), played a key role in implementing the entire operation by facilitating information exchange, and providing analytical and operational support (a mobile office was set up for the cyber‐patrol activity). Officers made full use of INTERPOL’s Stolen Works of Art database, with several hundred searches performed during the operation. Experts from Europol, INTERPOL and WCO were also deployed to provide analytical on‐the‐spot support over the course of the cyber patrol week.