Gardaí say they have identified a number of archaeological objects which were not reported to the National Museum of Ireland as part of a European investigation into international art trafficking.
Sixty people were arrested across 14 countries and over 11,000 stolen artefacts were recovered.
Operation Pandora VII, an annual law enforcement investigation, was led by Spain's Guardia Civil with the support of Europol and INTERPOL.
Two cyber patrol weeks were organised in May and October of last year with over 8,000 checks conducted online and over 4,000 stolen goods seized. 130 investigations are still ongoing.
Gardaí said today officers from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) were also involved.
They say the objects identified here are subject to ongoing investigations under the National Monuments Act (1930) and other legislation.
They also say the NBCI, along with the National Museum of Ireland, routinely conduct similar cyber patrols to identify cultural and historic items being trafficked online.
European law enforcement agencies also recovered 77 ancient books in Italy which the Italian Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Arma dei Carabinieri) seized from an online marketplace. The books had been stolen from the archives of a monastery.
A Roman marble bust of a woman was recovered by the Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) in Sevilla, Spain. The sculpture is believed to represent Salonia Matidia, the niece of the emperor Traian.
Over 3,000 ancient coins were seized from an online sales platform by the Polish Police Service. An additional 117 Dacian and Roman coins were also recovered by Romanian law enforcement after an archaeological site was looted.
Forty-eight religious sculptures and other religious artefacts were recovered by the Portuguese authorities.
These objects are believed to have been linked to a series of 15 robberies carried out in churches across northern Portugal between 1992 and 2003.
An additional 41 religious and liturgical objects (icons, altarpieces and mouldings) were also confiscated by the Hellenic Police after the search of a house in Greece.
Thirteen archaeological artefacts (jewellery, among other things) from the Russian Federation were seized at a post office in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ireland, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina were involved in the international investigation.
