Turkey jails 10 for stealing ancient treasures
The director of a state museum and nine others have been convicted in Turkey for stealing some of the fabled ancient treasures of King Croesus.
AP
A coin and a gold brooch in the shape of a winged sea horse were taken from a museum displaying possessions of the wealthy king of Lydia who ruled in the 6th century B.C.
The ancient kingdom was in modern day western Turkey.
A court in the western city of Usak says museum director Kazim Akbiyiklioglu was imprisoned on Friday for nearly 13 years for theft and embezzlement. Nine others received lesser prison terms.
The treasures were replaced by fakes in 2006 and the original pieces have not been recovered.
The pieces were among items smuggled out of Turkey in the 1960s and returned to the country only in 1993.