China's public security ministry reviews cultural relic crimes

Public security authorities in China have investigated more than 170 cases involving crimes against cultural relics and arrested over 390 suspects since launching a nationwide operation on May 15, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Security.

The cases involved illegal excavation, theft, trafficking, smuggling and destruction of cultural relics. Police have recovered more than 2,700 items, including over 230 classified as precious.

The figures were released after the ministry and the National Cultural Heritage Administration held a meeting in Beijing to advance the special operation, code-named "Yunxiao".

Police were instructed to target the illegal excavation and theft of relics from major cultural heritage sites under national- and provincial-level protection, as well as thefts from State-owned collections.

Other priorities include illegal digging in the name of "treasure hunting", online sales of cultural relics, trafficking disguised as legitimate auctions, relic smuggling and the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage during construction projects.

Meeting participants urged police to quickly solve new cases, pursue related leads, recover stolen relics and dismantle criminal networks. Authorities were also asked to improve cooperation across departments to uncover previously undetected crimes.

Police will review unsolved cases involving the excavation of ancient cultural sites and tombs, thefts from museum collections, thefts of sculptures and inscriptions from cave temples, and relic trafficking, according to the ministry.

Cultural heritage authorities were instructed to make relic safety a priority, strengthen security measures and assist police investigations. They should review clues from earlier cases involving stolen or missing relics and help determine the whereabouts of the items.

Authorities were urged to promptly examine leads reported through the 12359 hotline for cultural heritage violations and the national information platform for stolen or missing cultural relics.

The ministry also called for improved procedures to identify and appraise relics involved in criminal cases and for cultural heritage experts to provide greater support during police operations.

Cultural heritage authorities were also urged closer cooperation among police, cultural heritage authorities, courts and procuratorates to better connect administrative enforcement with criminal justice.