[ Argentina : Thousands of Fossils Recovered after Being Smuggled to Spain ]
Fossils from the largest cultural property theft in Argentina's history have returned home. More than 6,400 specimens, including The world's oldest daisy flower fossil and a complete duck-billed dinosaur skeleton, were officially handed over to the RĂo Negro Province on Tuesday, three years after they were smuggled into Spain in September 2020.
The trafficked fossils were part of the extensive collection of the now-shuttered Museum of Paleontology located in San Carlos de Bariloche in the province of Rio Negro. The museum, which was founded in the 1990s, has been closed since 2019. Authorities say Rodolfo Pedro Corsolini, the museum’s director, was responsible for illegally shipping the paleontological collection to Spain. Corsolini reportedly requested permission from the Secretariat of Culture of Rio Negro to take the pieces out of the country in April 2020, but was denied.
After the refusal, neighbors of the museum noticed unusual activities at the closed museum. By the time the customs authorities were informed, the fossils were gone....