Daraa, SANA – Daraa Antiquities Department in Daraa in cooperation with Police Command in the Province thwarted an attempt of smuggling a stolen ancient statue that dates back to the Aramaic Era from Mzereeb town in the western part of Daraa countryside to an unknown destination.
Head of Antiquities Department, Mohammad Kher Nasrallah, told SANA reporter that they had been informed by locals of Mzereeb that a smuggler was preparing to traffic a statue that has a form of a lion after it was concealed in al-Masmaka area in order to be smuggled after midnight.
He clarified that the Department requested for support of police units that stormed the place according to the information, adding that they managed to confiscate the statue and transport it to Daraa National Museum in preparation for forming a committee for examining the statue.
For his part, Secretary of Daraa National Museum, Ayham al-Zoubi said that the primary estimations refer that the statue goes back to the Aramaic Era some 4000 years ago. It is 65 cmlong and 35 cm high.
R. Milhem