Wikipedia:Wikiproject heritage traffic and looting

The "illegal trafficking of cultural heritage" consists in the national and/or international trade of fraudulently obtained cultural goods or property linked to a crime. Since the 1980s, looting and illegal trafficking of cultural heritage represent an increasing phenomenon with strong consequences in terms of security, economics, culture and society. It has reached an international scale, favored by the growth of technical resources (construction machines, metal detectors). Beyond the conflict areas, this increase has been recorded all around the world, pointing at each country as a potential target, sector of transit and destination. After looting, every effort is made to conceal the fraudulent origin of the objects. Their provenance is falsified, and a history is invented to give the transaction an apparent legality. Then, smugglers take advantage of disparate frameworks to propose goods on the market. They are stored in free ports located all around the world. Then they are sold at the market price, after a period of latency, with a maximum profit margin. As a result, stolen works cross States and pass through the hands of various intermediaries before being bought, often by good faith buyers.