(Ecns.cn) – The Anhui Provincial Department of Public Security held a meeting on June 21 to discuss the launch of a special campaign to crack down on grave robberies. During this meeting information from previous work was updated and detailed plans were formulated.
In 2010, police in east China's Anhui Province solved 295 cases related to stolen cultural relics, arrested 52 suspects, and seized 364 cultural relics, 8 of which were national first-level items.
Sophisticated grave robbing techniques
Over the past few years, grave robber groups have applied many sophisticated means, like directional blasting, to raid ancient coffins, with the aim of finding possessions of great monetary and cultural value.
An official from the criminal police unit of the Anhui Provincial Department of Public Security told a reporter from the Jianghuai Morning News that today's grave robber groups are highly trained and organized with every member having a specific responsibility.
The official revealed that these gravediggers usually do their work at night. Around sundown they begin their preparations for the grave robbing scheme. They plunder the graves and return them to their original appearance before sunrise in order to avoid detection.
If they are lucky enough to find valuables inside, they immediately inform their boss, who is most likely a relics dealer. He then sells them to another trustable dealer. The relics may be circulated time and again to unexpected places, even abroad.
According to the official, the suspects say they use modern means of communication to keep in contact with one another, including instant messaging, emails, and multimedia messaging services (MMS) on mobile phones.
In addition, grave robber groups usually have their own technical consultants, who will provide guidance in the use of new techniques and modern tools. Nowadays, directional blasting technology is widely used in grave digging, and instruments such as a stereotaxic locator, gas mask, and electric saw are nothing special. Even for gigantic items, the robbers consider all possibilities, and they use trucks to secretly transport them.
Antique shops are a major smuggling channel
In Anhui Province, there are many cultural relics hidden beneath the ground and deep in mountainous areas, where police are far from enough to protect them. Many historic tombs have been robbed and the valuables found inside sold mainly to private collectors.
On April 8, 2010, two stone figures were taken from the Xiaozidun Grave (meaning grave established by a filial son) in Changfeng County, Anhui Province. These two figures were the most intact and best preserved among the ten at the site, each weighing about 1,000 kilograms.
According to the official, grave robbers usually sell these cultural relics to the black market after a long-winded circulation among many dealers, and antique shops are also playing a part. Many dealers use antique shops as a front for a major smuggling channel.
In some cases, valuables may make their way to museums or scholars, but most will end up in private collections.
