A year-long investigation by The British Wire has uncovered a "shadow market" for stolen and looted antiquities operating within the highly secretive confines of London's freeport facilities.
Using leaked documents and testimony from former customs agents, we have tracked over £400 million in undocumented cultural assets moving through these high-security warehouses, where goods are held duty-free and ownership is often obscured by shell companies.
"Freeports have become the ultimate black box for the global criminal elite," said a former Metropolitan Police Art & Antiquities Squad detective. "Once an object enters the freeport, it effectively ceases to exist in the eyes of the law."
The investigation has prompted calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the regulation of freeports and a total overhaul of the 'know your customer' requirements for high-value art storage providers.
