Operation Icarus
Operation Icarus is a police investigation into the organised theft and black market trade of religious and church artefacts in England and Wales.[1] The investigation, led by West Mercia Police, commenced in 2013 and has subsequently been declared a major incident.[2] According to ArtWatch UK — an organisation which campaigns for the protection of works of art and architecture — the investigation has uncovered "the systematic plundering of churches in England and Wales [that] has gone largely unnoticed for up to ten years."[3] Detective Inspector Martyn Barnes, head of the operation, said: "Some of the items that have been taken are described as priceless because they are unique. Some of them may fetch tens of thousands pounds on the black market; others go for £50, £60. We believe that some of these crimes date back to 2002—2003."[4]
History
Operation Icarus was launched in 2013 by West Mercia Police (WMP) following the recovery by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) of several stolen religious artefacts. The MPS had received information from HM Revenue and Customs relating to the illegal importation of a gorilla's head by an art dealer in South London. When police confronted the dealer they also found two 15th-century decorative oak panels and a 13th-century stone memorial.[2] The oak panels, depicting St Victor of Marseille and St Margaret of Antioch, were identified as part of a medieval rood screen from Holy Trinity Church, Torbryan, Devon, and had been stolen in August 2013.[2][5] The stone was identified as a "heart stone" which had marked the place where the Bishop of Hereford John de Breton's heart was interred in the wall of Dore Abbey, Golden Valley, Herefordshire.[2] It had been stolen in September 2012.[6]
As the force responsible for Herefordshire, WMP took over and interviewed the dealer, widening the investigation to include other dealers and internet sales. The operation discovered that "for at least six years, and more likely for a decade, a person — or persons — had been targeting remote, often unlocked, churches and stripping them of precious artefacts."[2]
See also
References
- ^ Tanner, Bill (7 May 2015). "Stolen art returned to Herefordshire churches". Hereford Times. Hereford. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Morris, Steven (20 May 2015). "Detectives unearth scores of church thefts dating back 10 years". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Hallett, Florence (8 June 2015). "Does the art trade turn a blind eye to church thefts?". ArtWatch UK. London. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Flynn, Sophie (15 June 2015). "Images released of church items recovered in Operation Icarus". West Mercia Police. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Kennedy, Maev (13 August 2013). "Fifteenth-century icons stolen from Devon church". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ McDermott, Kerry (11 September 2012). "Church effigies targeted by gangs who steal them to order and smuggle artefacts abroad". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
Further reading
- Houpt, Simon (2009). Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft. Toronto: Madison Press Books. ISBN 978-1-897-33044-9.
External links
- West Mercia Police (15 June 2015). "Operation Icarus". Flickr. Gallery of recovered artefacts awaiting identification. Retrieved 28 June 2015.