1,700-year-old artifacts illegally headed to Illinois head back to El Salvador
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Important historical artifacts illegally headed to Illinois are now back where they belong in their home country of El Salvador.
Thirteen stone and clay pre-Columbian artifacts are up to 1,700 years old.
They were found among merchandise entering the U.S. at the Miami International Airport's mail facility on their way to Illinois.
On Friday, they were handed over to the Council General of El Salvador.
"Trafficking in antiquities is a multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise. But when traffickers steal these antiquities from their homeland, they're robbing the cultural heritage of a nation," said John McCabe of Homeland Security.
"This is so important for us to keep it safe in El Salvador and now more than ever. We are showing El Salvador to the world. And we are trying to have more museums," said Vanessa Guevara, Chicago Consul General of El Salvador.
Since 2007, Homeland Security Investigations have recovered and returned 20,000 artifacts to more than 40 countries.