A family enjoying a day in the park last week caught an antiquities thief in the act, filming his illegal treasure hunt and aiding authorities in his apprehension.
While enjoying the day out, a family spotted a man with a metal detector digging around the roughly 2000 year-old Hurbat Bazka archaeological site in the Givat Sar neighborhood of Modiin.
The alert citizens immediately notified the Israel Antiquities Authority and filmed the man as he continued his search for valuable relics. The family then sent the footage, recorded on a cellular device, to the IAA, while continuing to observe the suspect.
An IAA inspector dispatched to the scene found evidence of recent unauthorized digs, and later obtained a search warrant against the suspect. On Friday, IAA agents conducted a search of the suspect’s home and brought the man for interrogation.
While the man acknowledged that he had illegally dug around the archeological site and had used a metal detector, he claims that he was not searching for antiquities but merely for stones.
The district prosecutor is expected to issue an indictment against the suspect in the near future.