smuggling artifacts

    Vietnamese police have arrested four men, including two Chinese nationals, on suspicion of antiquities smuggling, police said Monday. 

The men were arrested Friday, March 23 in Mong Cai Town near the border with China with several items, some of which have been identified as ancient Vietnamese artifacts. 

Police seized 36 items, including 1 bronze drum, 59 earrings, 10 statues and a ceramics jar, according to the Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) newspaper. 

"The authorities are studying the items to identify their ages," Nguyen Huu Khia, deputy head of the provincial police investigation department, told DPA news agency by telephone Monday. 

Tips from local residents in Mong Cai, a northern town near the Chinese border, led to an investigation of the ring and seizure of the items. 

People's Police newspaper also said that the two Vietnamese men were hired by the two Chinese men from Jiangxi province to transport the items. All four men are being held for questioning. 

"We will inform the Chinese authorities about the arrests shortly," Khia said, adding that the identities of the Chinese men haven't been released to the public. 

(Thanh Nien News, March 26, 2007)