Libyan police have arrested a man carrying out illegal excavations inside the ancient city of Shahat, in the northeast of the country.
The Tourism and Antiquities Protection Police in the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region said that the accused was caught red-handed and in possession of a number of artifacts.
Legal measures were taken against him, and he was referred to Public Prosecution.
In July, A Libyan professor was also caught red-handed by the Tourism and Antiquities Police while digging and excavating inside the archaeological area of Jabal Al-Akhdar.
Security forces noticed a person entering the archaeological area, and after being observed by policemen for four days, he was caught red-handed. During the interrogation, the professor admitted that he possessed a number of antiquities inside his house.
The accused is a specialist in the field of history and ancient civilizations and is a university professor.
The police searched the house and found a large number of antiques. The seized items included statues, pottery, gold, silver, and bronze coins, precious stones of various sizes and colors, and some archaeological and historical manuscripts.
The man was referred to the Public Prosecution to take the appropriate legal action against him.
In May, Libyan security forces announced that they thwarted a smuggling operation of a group of Roman antiques in Tripoli.
The statement added that two of the smugglers were arrested, while the rest of the gang is being tracked.
Many of these antiquities were smuggled after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.