[TD="colspan: 2"]Saturday, 20 October 2012[/TD]
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Smuggling priceless antiquities seems to be turning into a sport for American 'tourists' and 'NGO workers' visiting Macedonia.
Just last month a US citizen was caught on the Macedonian Serbian border attempting to leave the country with a bag full of priceless figures, coins and other antiquities.
A week later, another American, Mrs. Candi Dunlop was detained attempting to leave Macedonia at Skopje's international airport after customs authorities discovered numerous priceless coins dating back to 1,200 BC.
On the black market, such coins may easily fetch millions.
The two previos Americans quickly confessed their guilt, while Mrs Dunlop maintained the coins were simply a gift from an unnamed Macedonian citizen.
Although Macedonians are famous for their hospitality, there are hardly any Macedonians who give up national treasures worth in the millions as a "gift".
The Macedonian Government, as any other country is very strict when it comes to priceless artefacts, particularly after becoming aware of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of antiquities being smuggled out of the country in the 1990's. Most of the artefacts are believed to be sold on the black market and are in private collections in the US and England.
Mrs. Dunlop is awaiting trial on Wednesday. If she does not confess where she obtained or who gave her the coins, she may stay in Macedonia for an extended period.
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