Police in
Argentina have arrested four men who were trying to steal meteorites in the
northern province of Chaco. The region is world famous for the space rocks
which are protected under law.
Deutsche Welle, 31 May 2015
The 215
large pieces of meteorites weighing 1,500 kilos (3,300 pounds) were hidden in a
truck which was stopped in a random search by police on Saturday. Three
Argentines and one Paraguayan were detained by police.
Planeaban robo masivo de meteoritos en Argentina: La policía los descubrió http://t.co/ZzzKQFrox2 pic.twitter.com/WGfcSpPzg0
— Emol.com (@Emol) 31 mei 2015
The
province of Chaco in the north of Argentina is famous for meteorites which are
protected under Argentine law. There is an area called the "Field of
Heaven," covering 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) - an area
that scientists say got pelted 4,000 years ago by a major meteor shower.
State
minister Javier Oteo said that "there was still no information on the
place from where the meteorites had been stolen" but the "Field of
Heaven" was just 32 kilometers (20 miles) from General Pinedo where the
truck was stopped.
"The
information we have is minimal and preliminary," Oteo said. "We are
interested in the case because it concerns public property belonging to people
from Chaco, Argentinians and all of humanity."
Among the
meteorites in the "Field of Heaven" is the 37.4 tonne "El
Chaco," the largest in Argentina and believed to be the second-largest in
the world. In 1990 it was on the point of being sold illegally to a collector
in the US.
jm/jr (EFE, dpa)
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