Smugglers Arrested; Antiques Seized
Patna: April 17, 2008
 After a week of stakeout, round-the-clock surveillance, and posing as customers, the Patna police on Thursday nabbed three smugglers with international connections and recovered three statues from the 3rd century A.D. made of five metals with an estimated value of Rs. 1 crore in the international market.
At a press conference, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amit Kumar said the police had received information about some smugglers trying to sell some antique statues in Patna.
 Based on the information, the police earlier raided a hotel near Gandhi Maidan but failed to capture the crooks. Then the police kept the hotel under watch and soon realized that three men were living in a room under fake names while posing as businessmen from Delhi.
On Thursday, the police, posing as potential buyers, approached the smugglers and negotiated the price for the three statue. A deal was struck at Rs. 1 crore.
When the police presented Rs. 3 lakh as an advance towards the final purchase price, the criminals brought the statues out and that is when the cops sprung into action and arrested the three men who were identified as Shankar Kumar, Rajesh Jain, and Mohammed Wahid Ali.
The statues of Lord Ram, Tara, and Maya, the mother of Lord Buddha weigh 12 kilogram, 550 gram, and 250 gram respectively, authorities said.
Experts in antiques are being brought in to determine the actual age and price of the statues, said the SSP adding the police would investigate the case to get to the other members of the smuggling network.
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