US customs officials recover bronze idol worth $1m looted from Indian temple

I've just finished reading The Moonstone and I'll be working on a gothic mystery unit for it and The Woman in White over the next few days ready to use as soon as school resumes. In the Guardian today was a story about a lost Indian idol being found and restored to its rightful home just like in The Moonstone.

11th or 12th century statue to be returned to India Anonymous collector voluntarily handed over object

US customs officials have recovered a bronze religious statue from the 11th or 12th century that they say was looted from a temple in India.

The New York office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on Wednesday that an anonymous collector voluntarily surrendered the idol.

It says the two-and-a-half-foot idol was looted from a temple in Tamil Nadu at the southern tip of India. It will be returned to India. 

Customs agents say the collector bought the object in 2006 and was given false provenance papers. 

ICE says the bronze statue would sell for as much as $1m if legitimately offered on the market. 

Its recovery is part of a three-year investigation into the former New York-based art dealer Subhash Kapoor. Kapoor is awaiting trial in India on looting charges.

Story from the Guardian