By Alvise Armellini

ROME, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Italian authorities said on Friday they had arrested 34 “tomb raiders” suspected of looting treasures from archaeological sites in Sicily and the neighbouring region of Calabria.

The looting ‍of Italy’s rich artistic and archaeological heritage is a centuries-old problem, but the Carabinieri police art squad has had some success in recent years in recovering stolen artefacts.

In Sicily, nine people were placed in pre-trial detention and 14 under house arrest on charges including criminal conspiracy, theft of cultural property, trading in ‌stolen goods and counterfeiting, police and prosecutors said.

Officers seized ‌around 10,000 archaeological artefacts, including 7,000 coins issued by various Greek city states that existed on Sicily in anc

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