Damascus, Dec. 19 (SANA) The Syrian Ministry of Culture announced the arrest of the ringleader of an antiquities theft network involved in stealing artifacts from the Classics Hall of the National Museum in Damascus last month. The ministry confirmed that joint investigations with the Interior Ministry and the recovery of surveillance recordings led to uncovering the details of the operation and thwarting it.
The ministry explained, in a statement Friday, that its teams, in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, worked continuously since the incident, collecting evidence and pursuing the perpetrators until the efforts succeeded in record time.
It added that Interior Ministry experts and investigators, supported by Syrian national technological expertise and under direct ministerial supervision, managed to reactivate the surveillance system that the thieves believed was out of service. This allowed the extraction of precise recordings of the operation and the reactivation of cameras to monitor movements inside the museum before, during, and after the theft.
The ministry stated that these efforts led to the arrest of “T.H.,” the ringleader of the network, who confessed to his crime and provided information about his accomplices. It praised the security forces and all those who contributed to the mission, which required the highest levels of secrecy and precision.
It emphasized that Syria’s culture, along with its tangible and intangible heritage and ancient antiquities, constitutes national security. It declared that safeguarding and protecting them is a collective responsibility, and vowed not to tolerate any attempts to target them, as they represent Syria’s civilizational image,both government and people.
The National Museum in Damascus was subjected to a theft on November 10, targeting several ancient statues and rare artifacts. The Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with internal security forces, quickly pursued the perpetrators as part of its efforts to protect Syria’s national heritage, which forms a cornerstone of the country’s civilizational identity.
MHD
