see also: in September 2008:   Ramey Border Patrol Sector Sponsors Intelligence Training   CBP Arrests Woman at California Port after Discovering 3 Hidden Females   Laredo Sector Border Patrol Agents Rescue Lost Alien   Customs and Border Protection Warns Floral Importers About Unripe Poppy Pods   CBP Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Failing to Register as Sex Offender   El Paso CBP Officers Discover 3,000 Pounds of Marijuana in Shipment of Watermelons   CBP Seizes More Than $360,000 in Undeclared Currency ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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San Bernardino, Calif. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials yesterday returned two centuries-old artifacts, one believed to date back to 200 BC, to the San Bernardino, Calif., consulate general of Mexico. They were illegally imported into the United States in 2004.

Two Los Angeles CBP officers representing the CBP Portland, Ore., field operations office presented the artifacts to Acting Consul General Jeremias Guzman Barrera during a ceremony at the San Bernardino County Museum.

“On behalf of the government of Mexico, I want to express our sincere appreciation to the government of the United States and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for returning these priceless artifacts to my country,” said Consul Guzman. “They are beautiful and timeless symbols of Mexico’s rich and ancient heritage.”

The return of the precious artifacts, just days after Mexico’s Independence Day, marked the end of a long chain of events that began over four years ago when an enterprising art collector in Denver, Colo., sought to import the artifacts from an art dealer in Paris, France.

The artifacts, described as a Teotihuacan Funerary Mask and Statuette, are believed to be from a north central Mexican region that has been emptied of many of its ancient artifacts primarily due to the increase in illicit trade.

In many areas of the world these artifacts are sold from prestigious art collections and international dealers to the highest bidder. When a Denver CBP import specialist reviewed entry documents and conducted an examination of the artifacts he suspected they were pre-Columbian but needed proof. The import specialist contacted the assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado to view the pieces. The professor verified the pieces were authentic pre-Columbian artifacts from Mexico.

Said Chief CBP Officer Cristina Gamez, “ On behalf of the United States and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, I am honored to repatriate these artifacts with their rightful owner, the people of Mexico,” adding, “CBP will continue to vigorously enforce international law in the recovery, seizure and return of stolen antiquities which represents our shared connection as world citizens.”

The U.S. is a signatory to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization enacted in 1970 to stem the trade of stolen art, and prohibit the importation into the United States. If an importer lacks the required license, the art can be seized. The importer in this case was advised by CBP of the requirement but was unable to obtain the license. CBP seized the artifacts which were administratively forfeited this year. The Denver office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted an investigation and found no evidence to criminally implicate the importer. No arrests have been made to date.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.