Authorities with Spain's Policía Nacional have dismantled a sophisticated antiquities trafficking network operating across Córdoba, Jaén, and Seville. As part of the investigation, code-named Operación Prados, Spain’s National Police arrested seven individuals suspected of orchestrating an illicit operation that trafficked thousands of archaeological artifacts—including coins, brooches, oil lamps, and other freshly looted material.

The investigation began in March 2023, when police monitoring online sales activities identified a suspicious numismatics business who is a member of the  Asociación Numismática Español based in Mairena del Aljarafe, just outside Seville. The business advertised widely across online auction platforms such as MA Shops, vCoins, Biddr, and eBay, as well as through its own virtual storefront. Investigators were alerted by a telling detail: several coins listed for sale still bore traces of soil, suggesting they had been recently unearthed—likely through illegal excavation. If confirmed, their sale and export would constitute a crime against historical heritage under Article 323 of Spain’s Penal Code which states:

1. Whoever causes damage to assets of historical, artistic, scientific, cultural or monumental value, as well as to archaeological, land and underwater sites shall be punished with a prison sentence of six months to three years or a fine of twelve to twenty-four months. Acts of plunder of the aforementioned sites shall be punished with the same penalty.

Following a lengthy investigation, authorities determined that the seven individuals had, over a five-year period, built a pipeline of looted material sourced directly from illegal metal detectorists working from unknown excavation sites across Andalusia. These items were then marketed and sold to collectors across the globe, without the mandatory cultural export permits, in direct violation of Spain’s national heritage laws.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior, the group used shipping hubs in Linares and Lucena to distributethousands of ancient coins and antiquities to buyers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In order to evade detection, they routinely mislabeled parcels as “gifts,” avoiding the formal customs clearance process and lowering the risk of inspection.

In a coordinated police operation, simultaneous raids were carried out at three locations—Mairena del Aljarafe, Linares, and Lucena—resulting in the arrest of three couples and one employee. Authorities seized approximately 3,000 artefacts, 73 silver coins, and €37,625 in cash. Prior to these arrests, law enforcement had already intercepted a single outgoing shipment containing 22 bags with more than 1,900 archaeological items.

In total, investigators estimate that the network generated as much as half a million euros in illicit revenue over the past five years.

This Spanish operation highlights the increasingly sophisticated mechanisms behind modern heritage exploitation.  Looters using metal detectors in archaeologically rich regions continue to funnel artefacts directly into the global antiquities market through well-connected criminal networks.  These networks, in turn, rely on e-commerce platforms that offer little to no vetting—creating the perfect storm where illicit cultural property can be laundered and sold across international jurisdictions with minimal scrutiny.

The practice of mislabeling parcels as “gifts” further illustrates the challenge of tracking both the physical and financial flows tied to looted cultural goods.

Why this matters: 

Spain’s archaeological heritage—spanning from prehistoric settlements to Roman cities—is a shared cultural legacy. When artefacts are removed without documentation or context, we lose irreplaceable pieces of history. This crackdown by Spanish authorities sends a clear message: stolen heritage will be pursued, recovered, and protected.