Bangladesh in Frenzied Search for Stolen Art

Bangladesh has mounted a massive hunt for two priceless artifacts that went missing yesterday at the Dhaka airport, Reuters reports. The statues of the Hindu god Vishnu, sculpted 1,500 years ago, were on their way to an exhibition at a Paris museum. Bangladeshi authorities have detained 12 suspects and stopped the shipment to France while the investigation continues.

The artifacts went missing as art lovers protested the shipment, anxious that a theft might occur. "Our suspicion has come true," said one professor emeritus at Dhaka University. "We still believe we are going to be cheated if we send those artifacts." The exhibition is scheduled to open in Paris in 2008. (More art stories.)