Over 1,000 archaeological artefacts, including a collection of coins from the period between 5th century BC to 11th century AD were confiscated from a Turkish national who was trying to smuggle them across the Croatian border crossing of Bajakovo with Serbia last December.
The ambassador thanked the Croatian ministry for cooperation in the process of restitution of the smuggled artefacts.
During today's ceremony, the head of the Vinkovci City Museum, Hrvoje Vulić, said that this was the second case of confiscation and return of Turkish archaeological finds after the first case of the handover of valuable finds last year.
He explained that the archaeological coins like those confiscated from the Turkish national at Bajakovo could be found in the whole area of the Mediterranean, however, the crucial facts for the decision to return the artefacts to Turkey were that the finds had been transported by a Turkish citizen and that they included a 5-kurus coin, a typical Turkish coin dating back to 1959.