Relics burglary cracked

On December 18, the police solved the largest-ever burglary case of cultural relics in Huai-rou district, when 24 relics stolen last July were returned to the cultural relics bureau. The suspects are all Beijing residents; one said that each of the relics was worth at least 60,000 yuan ($9,883) on the black market, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to the head of the bureau's law enforcement department, four of the 24 items were third-class national-level cultural relics. In 2014, the authorities will recruit thousands of volunteers to help protect relics in the field. If volunteers spot suspicious activities, they will report the case to the police in a timely fashion.