Indictments in alleged looting of ancient Four Corners burial sites - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The on Wednesday releasee details of 12 indictments related to 23 Law enforcement officials have started arresting thoser named inthe indictments, most of whom live in according to the Interiot Department. The indictments were handed down by a Salt Lake Citygrandc jury. Roughly 250 artifacts estimated to be worth morethan $335,000p allegedly were stolen by the ring, according to the Interior Department. The artifacts include Anasazi created by Native Americanscenturies ago, as well as ceremonial maska and a buffalo headdress.
An undercover investigatiobn intothe ring’s activities has been goingf on for two years, and included agentsz from the Interior Department’s and FBI as well as U.S. marshals. “Let this case servd notice to anyone who is considerinyg breaking these laws and tramplingour nation’a cultural heritage that the BLM, the Department of Justice and the [res of] the federal governmen t will track you down and bring you to justice,” Interiod Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. The federal Archaeological Resourcess Protection Act makes it illegap to excavate archaeological siteswithout authorization, and take artifacts from federak land for sale or exchange.
Once the tribal affiliations havebeen identified, they will be returned to thos tribes, as required by the Native Americann Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Items not covered by the tribal repatriation law will be made available for scientific researcy andpublic education. The Four Corners regionm includes partsof Colorado, Utah, New Mexick and Arizona, and occupies Natived American land. Colorado’s corner is part of this state’s Ute Mountaibn Ute reservation, and the other states’ cornerd are part of the Navajio Nation. Indicted defendants were to appear beforea U.S. magistratse in Moab, Utah, on Wednesday.