U.S. university students busted for artifacts

For the past week the Archaeology Department has been conducting exercises with security officers at Philip Goldson International Airport in an effort to halt the growing export of Mayan artifacts. But according to Archaeology Commissioner John Morris, he never thought the work would bear fruit so soon. This morning six U.S. students and their professor were stopped at the airport and subsequently charged with smuggling. The group from Heidleburg University in Ohio had been doing field studies at a small Maya site near Placencia and when caught with several intact ceramic pots as well as numerous shards, professed ignorance of the law. Professor Bob Murray told the Magistrate that he has been coming to Belize since 1985 and has been taking artifacts like these from this site on a regular basis because he had been told it was okay to do so and he had never been stopped at the airport before. That argument did not impress the court as the seven were each fined one thousand three hundred and fifty dollars for possession of artifacts, trying to export artifacts without a license and conspiracy to export. The total of nine thousand four hundred and eighty five dollars was to be paid now or in default the Americans would spend 13 months in prison. Due to the late time of day and their inability to immediately access the money, the Magistrate gave them an extension until Thursday, holding their passports and plane tickets until the fine has been paid.