Looters have been skulking around and digging up family treasures as long as rich sites filled with valuable artifacts have existed, but now gangs have become sophisticated and organized, and are harnessing modern technology to rob ancient graves.
A group of six looters were recently caught by police in the county of Ningjin in Hebei province, China. Last May the gang, led by a man named Nuan, broke into the tomb of a high-ranking official of the Ming imperial court. Although the tomb had been monitored by security cameras, the thieves disabled the cameras and, with a crane and steel cables, managed to hoist a two-ton stone horse onto a truck and drive away.
A different ancient tomb in Qingzhou City, China had been thoroughly looted, but one of the looters may have paid a heavy price, as remains of a body were found in looting tunnels. Credit: Chinese Cultural Relics