Port Huron is a major boarding crossing and Customs and Border Patrol agents often run into unusual situations, but imagine their surprise when they seized ancient Egyptian mummy linens during enforcement operations at the Blue Water Bridge. Officers identified a shipment on a Canadian mail truck that was selected for an enforcement examination at the Examination Station in Marysville. An inspection of a selected package revealed five jars of ancient Egyptian mummy linens. CBP began to coordinate with a Washington, DC based archeological organization in determining the admissibility of the presumed antiquities. The seized artifacts are believed to be from 305-30 BC and the importer was unable to prove that the artifacts were removed from Egypt prior to April 2016, which is in violation of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. Federal agencies to include the Department of State will be focusing on repatriation of these artifacts in the near future.
