Albania arrests traffickers of ancient artifacts from Apollonia archeological site

Tirana, Albania | Tirana Echo – The Albanian state police have arrested at least two people who were caught stealing and trafficking more than 200 archaeological artifacts from the ancient heritage site of Apollonia, near the city of Fier in Albania.

Police found several hundreds ancient vases, objects, amphorae, and other valuable artifacts which were destined for the black market, stored in the house of one of the arrested persons.

The police arrested Toni (Ermir) Fasko 35 year old and Saimir Fasko 38, in the village of Radostine in Fier which authorities are looking for two more individuals of 41 and 53 years old.

The artifacts were dug at the national park of Apollonia while the two individuals arrested risk more than 10 years in prison due to Albanian legislation on “Theft and Trafficking of Cultural Objects”, after proper evaluation from the Ministry of Culture.

However, the discovery of such a huge quantity of ancient artifacts which had been dug up during a long time uninterrupted, raises fears of improper security measures taken in and around archaeological sites in Albania.

Apollonia was an ancient Greek city and former bishopric in Illyria which was founded around 6^th Century BC. The site of Apollonia lay on the territory of the Taulantii, a cluster of Illyrian tribes that remained closely involved with the settlement for centuries and lived alongside the Greek colonists.

It is now one of the principle archaeological sites to visit in modern Albania.