Ancient Buddhist sculptures trafficked illegally into the UK in 2002 have been returned to Afghanistan after more than 17 years
The 10 sculptures – one of the largest collections of Buddhist art to be returned to Kabul – are believed to have been looted from central or eastern Afghanistan by the Taliban.
The identification and repatriation of the objects is the result of a collaboration in the UK between the Metropolitan police’s art and antiques unit, Border Force and the British Museum, which has helped in returning more than 2,000 objects to Afghanistan, Iraq and Uzbekistan in the last decade.
Image: British Museum
