ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs has confiscated over two thousand ancient coins belonging to middle ages and before from a passenger attempting to smuggle them to China.
Pakistan Customs revealed that a male passenger namely Mehar Nabi was supposed to board the flight to Urumqi in Xinjiang province in China. When Customs staff at Islamabad International Airport went through his baggage they found out the baggage containing 2,210 coins.
The coins belonged to Mogul (Mughal) era and pre-Mogul era i.e. the period of Delhi Sultanate. More stunningly, coins as old as the Sassanid era (circa 500 CE) and Greek era (circa 100 CE) were recognized by the Department of Archaeology and Museums which examined the lot.
One of the archaeologists told Customs Today that the coins were extraordinary and the loss to national heritage would have been unimaginable had the man succeeded in transporting them elsewhere out of Pakistan.
The man was taken into custody by the police.
