RAWALPINDI - A police team held two smugglers on Fateh Jang Road and recovered more than 50 ancient statues from their possession on Wednesday.
However, the other two smugglers managed to escape. The arrested smugglers were identified as Munir Khan and Rasheed Gull, while those who fled were Zahid Butt and Faisal Butt, informed Station House Officer (SHO) PS Naseerabad Chaudhry Jamil.
According to him, police officials were on routine duty at checkpoint on Fateh Jang Road when they signalled a suspected car (RNL-1086) to stop. During the course of search, he said, police found more than 50 ancient statues hidden in the car. Police arrested two persons while the other two culprits managed to escape, he added.
The arrested smugglers revealed during interrogation that they dug out the statues from a plot and were smuggling them to Islamabad, the SHO said. He said that the archaeologist, called by police from Taxila Museum, examined the sculptures and told that they might be 3000 years old worth of which also be in million of rupees.  A case has been registered against the accused while further investigation was under way, Chaudhry Jamil said.