Thanks to investigations by a national security team, a Buddhist statue was recovered in Phoenix that had been illegally sent to the United States more than 50 years ago.
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The search for the ninth-century statue began in October 2019 and it was discovered that it had been bought abroad.
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The statue was located in a house in the Phoenix area.
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Authorities contacted the current owner who had expressed concern about owning the statue she said she inherited from her family.
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The owner told authorities she believed the original purchase occurred more than 50 years ago in the Middle East while she and her family were living abroad.
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The private collector voluntarily agreed to hand over the ancient statue to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) so that it could be repatriated to India after learning of its origins.
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