US businessman arrested over idol smuggling

mumbai — Indian police have arrested an American businessman accused of involvement in an international smuggling ring that illegally trades in artefacts believed looted from temples, officers said on Wednesday.

They detained Vijay Nanda, a US citizen of Indian origin, after finding antiques including terracotta figurines more than 2,000 years old at his premises in Mumbai.

The idols, which investigators suspect were stolen from Hindu and Buddhist temples in southern and eastern India, were destined to be sold for vast sums to private collectors abroad, police said. Art theft is big business in India where looters and smugglers target ancient temples. Many are located in remote areas and have been left abandoned without any security.

Officers said Nanda was linked to the same syndicate as octogenarian art dealer G Deenadhayalan, who was arrested in Tamil Nadu state last year for possessing hundreds of allegedly stolen artefacts. “Vijay Nanda is a prime player in the international art smuggling syndicate with extensive connections in the US, Europe and Hong Kong,” India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said in a statement. The DRI said the terracotta sculptures were found at Nanda’s home alongside bronze figurines of Hindu deities Ganesha and Mahishasura dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. —