Post by anansi on Nov 11, 2013 1:16:09 GMT -5
Italian arrested 'for smuggling human skulls into Asia'
Giuseppe Favaro stopped at Burundi airport with human skulls in his luggage
There have been suggestions that the skulls could be the body parts of murdered albinos Photo: ALAMY
An Italian expatriate has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle two human skulls through airport security to Thailand.
Giuseppe Favaro, 56, was stopped at the International Airport of Bujumbura in Burundi after authorities found the packaged human skulls in his luggage. He was arrested on October 31. Further searches of his house in Kajaga district in the capital, Bujumbura on Wednesday, found 38 more skulls alongside other "suspicious objects" according to a spokesman for the National Police Force of Burundi. Authorities have determined that the skulls are human, but as yet their origin is unknown.
Favoro, originally from the large town of Scorzè in the Veneto region of Italy, attended the Ca'Foscari University of Venice where he studied Foreign Languages. Having previously been a dealer of Venetian antiquities, he moved to Burundi some years before 1999. It was here that he began selling tribal art, jewellery and paintings as well as exporting local raw materials by post.
On requesting the postage of the package containing the skulls, Favaro allegedly gave post office workers the false alias of Kassim Abdoulgani, a name he had used in previous transactions.
Salvador Nizigiyamana, the General Director of the Burundian Post Office, said that Favaro was known to them as he has been sending works of art by post since 1999 without being apprehended. Among the locations Favaro exported goods to, was China.
"The agent wasn't careful to check his packages, and the package containing the two human skulls managed to get a green light to go," Mr Nizigiyimana added.
There have been suggestions that the skulls could be the body parts of murdered albinos, but this is as yet unconfirmed.
Trading in albino body parts is a lucrative trade in Burundi and neighbouring Tanzania, as they are thought to have medicinal healing powers. At least 10 albinos have been killed in Burundi in recent years, and in 2009 eight people were arrested in connection with the murders.
The Italian embassies in both Burundi and Uganda continue to assist authorities with their investigation of the case, but have refused to disclose further details relating to the skulls.
One other person has been implicated in the incident but remains unidentified.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/burundi/10436673/Italian-arrested-for-smuggling-human-skulls-into-Asia.html
Giuseppe Favaro stopped at Burundi airport with human skulls in his luggage
There have been suggestions that the skulls could be the body parts of murdered albinos Photo: ALAMY
An Italian expatriate has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle two human skulls through airport security to Thailand.
Giuseppe Favaro, 56, was stopped at the International Airport of Bujumbura in Burundi after authorities found the packaged human skulls in his luggage. He was arrested on October 31. Further searches of his house in Kajaga district in the capital, Bujumbura on Wednesday, found 38 more skulls alongside other "suspicious objects" according to a spokesman for the National Police Force of Burundi. Authorities have determined that the skulls are human, but as yet their origin is unknown.
Favoro, originally from the large town of Scorzè in the Veneto region of Italy, attended the Ca'Foscari University of Venice where he studied Foreign Languages. Having previously been a dealer of Venetian antiquities, he moved to Burundi some years before 1999. It was here that he began selling tribal art, jewellery and paintings as well as exporting local raw materials by post.
On requesting the postage of the package containing the skulls, Favaro allegedly gave post office workers the false alias of Kassim Abdoulgani, a name he had used in previous transactions.
Salvador Nizigiyamana, the General Director of the Burundian Post Office, said that Favaro was known to them as he has been sending works of art by post since 1999 without being apprehended. Among the locations Favaro exported goods to, was China.
"The agent wasn't careful to check his packages, and the package containing the two human skulls managed to get a green light to go," Mr Nizigiyimana added.
There have been suggestions that the skulls could be the body parts of murdered albinos, but this is as yet unconfirmed.
Trading in albino body parts is a lucrative trade in Burundi and neighbouring Tanzania, as they are thought to have medicinal healing powers. At least 10 albinos have been killed in Burundi in recent years, and in 2009 eight people were arrested in connection with the murders.
The Italian embassies in both Burundi and Uganda continue to assist authorities with their investigation of the case, but have refused to disclose further details relating to the skulls.
One other person has been implicated in the incident but remains unidentified.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/burundi/10436673/Italian-arrested-for-smuggling-human-skulls-into-Asia.html