The press service of the Baltic Customs reported this. According to the report, the cargo was brought into Russia through one of the Eurasian Economic Union countries. During the attempt to export it abroad, it was declared as a sculpture intended for landscape design. However, during a detailed inspection, it was discovered that the information in the additional documents regarding the origin and value of the cargo did not match to reality.
As a result of the expertise, it was revealed to be a fragment of the rare "Aletai" iron meteorite. Experts estimate its total value to be approximately 323 million rubles. The smuggled cargo was intended to be sent to the United Kingdom under a false pretext.
The "Aletai" meteorite was discovered in 1898 in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is considered part of the core of an ancient protoplanet. Being the largest known iron meteorite on Earth, it is distinguished by a unique structure with interconnected metal bands. It consists mainly of iron and nickel. Its large fragments possess high scientific and collection value. For this reason, parts of the meteorite often become objects of illegal trade, reported by oz.inform.kz.
