Tight security procedures | Officers in Turkish posts involved in smuggling antiques and artifacts from Syria to Turkey

Syrian Observatory sources have reported that Turkish posts and checkpoints have imposed tight security procedures on Turkish and Syrian officers by taking pictures of them, raising the number of surveillance cameras, monitoring the processes of changing shifts and checking Turkish vehicles carefully before leaving Syria. This development comes in the wake of the arrest of a Turkish officer in Al-Mastumah post, as he was found involved in smuggling antiques and artifacts from Syria to Turkey via military vehicles carrying officers and guards escorting the Turkish columns.

According to SOHR sources, several Turkish officers in Idlib province are trading in Syria’s antiquities for the favour of unknown bodies. Moreover, the Turkish officers offer incentive prices meet the ambition of prospectors and diggers.

It is worth noting that Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham works widely in excavation for antiquities in both public areas and private properties after forcing the owners to agree on excavation work, then HTS smuggles and sells these antiquities in Turkey.

On the other hand, archaeological excavation and vandalism of public and private properties continue in Afrin area in northern Aleppo.