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"Are you tellingfor Huascar's treasure at this very minute?"

Sandecker asked incredulously

Ragsdale nodded "An international syndicate that deals in art theft, antiquity s into untold millions of untaxed dollars"

"I had no idea"

"Regrettably, our govern the general public on a cri trade"

"In one robbery alone," explained Gaskill, "the dollar estimate of the masterpieces stolen from the Gardner Museum in Boston in April 1990 came to two hundred million"

"When you throw in the co place in nearly every country of the world," Ragsdale continued, "you can understand e're looking at a billion-dollar industry"

"The list of art and antiquities stolen over the past hundred years would equal the number of names in the New York phone book," Gaskill emphasized

"Who buys such a staggering aoods?" asked Sandecker

"The demand far exceeds the supply," answered Gaskill "Wealthy collectors are indirectly responsible for looting because they create a strong nificant hot goods froround dealers The list of clients reads like a celebrity register Heads of state, highlevel government officials, motion picture personalities, top business leaders, and even curators offor black oods to enhance their collections If they have a buck, they'll buy it"

"Drug dealers also buy untold aal art and antiquities as a fast and easy way of launderingan investment"

"I can see why unrecorded artifacts are lost in the shuffle," said Sandecker "But surely fas and sculptures turn up and are recovered"

Ragsdale shook his head "Soet lucky, and a tip leads us to stolen property

Occasionally honest art dealers or nize pieces the thieves are trying to sell All too oftenart remains lost from lack of leads"

"A trerave robbers are sold before archaeologists have a chance to study theainst Iraq in the early nineties, thousands of artifacts, including untranslated clay tablets, jewelry, textiles, glass, pottery, gold and silver coins, and cylinder seals, were plundered from both Kuwaiti and Iraqi museums by anti-Hussein opposition forces and Shiite and Kurdish rebels Much of it had already passed through dealers and auction houses before any of the pieces could be catalogued asor stolen"