On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returned three recovered stolen sand stone sculptures, valued at more than $1.5 million (USD), to the Government of India, during a repatriation ceremony held at the Consulate General of India, New York, wherein Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Executive Associate Director Mr. James A. Dinkins presented the artifacts to Consul General of India Amb. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, alongside INTERPOL Washington Director Mr. Shawn Bray.

In his welcome remarks, Amb. Mulay appreciated the remarkable efforts made by ICE HSI in the recovery of the three priceless Indian assets and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the U.S. authorities for having invested so much time, energy and resources in obtaining, securing and helping India repatriate these sculptures to the place where they belong. He further stated that prevention of illegal trade in antiquities has emerged as an important area of cooperation between India and the United States as can be seen from this recent recovery of stolen Indian antiquities. The repatriation of these cultural artifacts underscores the importance of growing institutional partnership, which is of great significance to both countries.

"The excellent international cooperation between the United States and India led to the recovery and return of these priceless antiquities," said Mr. Dinkins. "The pilfering of a nation\'s cultural patrimony cannot and will not be tolerated."

"There is no better example of what can be accomplished through the collaboration between US and international law enforcement via INTERPOL than the astounding results of this investigation, which have led to today\'s repatriation of these artifacts to their rightful place with the people of India," said Mr. Bray. "INTERPOL Washington is proud to have been able to assist ICE Homeland Security Investigations in obtaining the documentation and images necessary to help identify the objects as those stolen from India."

Two of the three artifacts returned to India were reported in 2009 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), who notified the Indian Consulate about two sandstone sculptures stolen from the Gadgach Temple in Atru, Rajasthan. The 350-pound \'Vishnu and Lakshmi\' sandstone sculpture dates back to the 11th or 12th century and was listed as number 6 on Interpol\'s top 10 most wanted works of art. The third artifact is a male deity black sandstone sculpture, depicting a Bodhisattva, a popular subject in Buddhist art, and is believed to date back to the 11th or early 12th century from either the Indian State of Bihar or Bengal.

Further information can be obtained on the Official website of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by clicking on the link below

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