TEHRAN – Several historical objects have recently been confiscated from smugglers in Qirokarzin county, southern Fars province, a senior police official in charge of protecting cultural heritage said on Saturday, CHTN reported.

The objects that include some semi-precious stones, a tray, ring, and a necklace were recovered after the police stopped a suspicious driver for a routine inspection. 

The antique dealers were traced and arrested at a checkpoint at the Qirokarzin-Firuzabad road after the police received reports from cultural heritage aficionados, Mohammadreza Bahmaninejad announced. 

The culprits were detained and surrendered to the judicial system for further investigation, he noted.

The official, however, did not refer to the exact age of the relics.

The ancient region of Fars also spelled Pars, or Persis was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (550–330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital at Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved the capital to nearby Persepolis in the late 6th or early 5th century BC.

The capital city of Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights. Increasingly, it draws more and more foreign and domestic sightseers flocking into this provincial capital which was the literary capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

ABU/AFM