The United States is now coordinating with the Mongolian government about the arrangement of sending over a dozen smuggled dinosaur skeletons.
Last Friday, a handover ceremony between the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and Mongolian officials were done in New York returning a 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar which stood 8-foot tall and 24-foot long. It was confiscated after being sold for $1 million in an auction in Manhattan by Heritage Auctions despite the court’s disapproval.
US Attorney Preet Bharara said in his speech, "The recovery of this treasure trove of dinosaur fossils is the latest significant step in returning missing pieces of the Mongolian people's history that were literally dug out from under them".
"We simply cannot allow the greed of a few looters and schemers to trump the cultural interests of an entire nation... We look forward to returning these fossils to their rightful owner - the government of Mongolia," US customs official James T Hayes said.
These skeletons were allegedly smuggled into the US between 2010 and 2012 by Eric Prokopi, a fossil dealer based in Gainesville, Florida. The US government filed charges against him last October. However, his attorney denied that his client intended to sell the skeletons claiming that those were for his personal collection.
Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj expressed his gratitude to the US prosecutors, judges, investigators and paleontologists for showing fair justice and commitment to fight illegal smuggling even if it will be against its own citizen.
Mongolia’s Gobi Desert is rich with dinosaur fossils but the government had prohibited the possession and export of any fossils found within its perimeters. Even so, the skeletons were able to exit the country and enter US with unclear or false labels. These dinosaur fossils are explicitly sold in the US at different auctions and trade fairs according to paleontologists.
Based on customs documents, the fossils were reported to be from Great Britain worth $15,000 when it entered the country.
Next to handover includes two more Tyrannosaurus bataars, six Oviraptors and several Gallimimuses skeletons. The Mongolian government said that they will open a dinosaur museum to showcase these skeletons.
