Spanish police arrested 16 art forgers and sellers of false or stolen artworks and seized more than 10,000 artefacts in raids across the country, police said today.
The artefacts included archaeological treasures such as coins and figurines from several ancient cultures, forged paintings of famous Spanish artists and equipment to make fake and aged coins.
Police said in a statement that while thefts of artworks from Spanish museums and galleries had decreased in recent years, thefts from archaeological sites and trafficking in forged artworks were on the rise.
The arrested traffickers used a wide variety of methods to sell artefacts, from online auctions to old-style stands at flea markets, police said.
Some of the seized paintings were so technically accomplished that art experts alone were not able to establish if they were authentic, and laboratory analyses would be needed, the statement added.