14 DAY TRIAL // This past Monday, a T-Rex skeleton said to be roughly 70 million years old was returned to the Mongolian government.
By the looks of it, the skeleton was smuggled into the United States several years ago.
Despite claims that the dinosaur remains belonged to Mongolia, the skeleton was sold for a whopping $1.05 million (about €0.8 million) at an auction organized in New York back in 2012.
At that time, some argued that the Tyrannosaurus Bataar remains had been found in Britain, hence the Mongolian's government having no claims over them.
However, several investigations carried out by paleontologists have revealed that the dinosaur's fossilized bones had in fact been unearthed in the Gobi Desert, and were therefore property of Mongolia.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returned a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton, looted from the Gobi Desert and illegally smuggled into the United States, to the government of Mongolia Monday during a repatriation ceremony at a Manhattan hotel,” reads an official statement posted on ICE's website.
“The Bataar was seized in New York by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents after it sold at a Manhattan auction for $1.05 million,” the agency further details.
According to The Inquisitr, it was fossil dealer Eric Prokopi who smuggled the skeleton from the UK in the US back in 2010.
Since his actions were illegal, Eric Prokopi has been arrested and is facing several charges.
Now that the T-Rex has been returned to the Mongolian government, this plans on putting it on display in its Central Dinosaur Museum of Mongolia.
“This is one of the most important repatriations of fossils in recent years. We cannot allow the greed of a few looters and schemers to trump the cultural interests of an entire nation,” ICE Director John Morton commented with respect to the outcome of the custody battle.
“Because of the collaborative effort between HSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, we undo a great wrong by returning this priceless dinosaur skeleton to the people of Mongolia,” John Morton went on to argue.