Criminals who stole ancient Russian books from libraries in 9 countries were detained in Georgia | Abroad

Georgia announced the arrest of criminals who stole ancient Russian books from European libraries. Among the victims was the library of the University of Tartu. It is not yet clear whether all the stolen rarities will be returned.

The Georgian prosecutor’s office announced the arrest of four people who are considered to be the organizers of the thefts of books from national and university libraries in a number of European countries, including Estonia, Actual Camera reports.

“During the operation, the living quarters of dozens of people, as well as book trading points associated with these people, were searched. Hundreds of books and a significant amount of cash were seized,” said Deputy Prosecutor General of Georgia Bakur Abuladze.

According to Interpol, the suspects stole at least 170 rare books, valued at 2.5 million euros. The thefts followed the same pattern: thieves posing as scientists took photographs of ancient Russian books that interested them in the library, and then replaced the original editions with copies. In particular, lifetime editions of Pushkin and Gogol worth about 80,000 euros were stolen from the library of the University of Tartu. Attackers managed to steal libraries in 9 countries.

“Previously, based on our request, one of the people suspected of stealing books from the Vilnius University library was arrested in Belgium. New arrests in Georgia were preceded by a large investigative operation involving law enforcement officers from several countries, including Lithuania,” noted the Vilnius District Prosecutor Prosecutor’s Office Litauras Rudzevicius.

“Of course, the detention of the suspects is very good news, because members of this organized group stole books that are of great value both for Lithuania and for the entire European culture. In light of what happened, we have taken measures designed to reduce the risk of repetition of such crimes,” said the rector of Vilnius Raimundas Balciunaitis University.

According to Interpol, some of the stolen books were sold through Russian auction houses, which leaves little hope for the return of rarities to their rightful owners, that is, libraries.