PESHAWAR, April 28: Customs officials have seized at least three dozen artifacts and relics from the luggage of a man who was flying to Bangkok via Karachi, a senior official said on Friday.

The officials arrested the man and charged him with smuggling ancient art objects.

“A preliminary investigation showed that some of the relics belonged to a period older than the Gandhara civilisation stretching back 1,800 years or more, while a few artifacts were from the Islamic period,” said Bahadar Khan, deputy director of the federal archaeology department here.

Once the origin of these relics was authenticated, Assistant Collector of Customs Husna Jameel said, the archaeology department would release a detailed report.

Ms Jameel said at a press conference held on the customs premises at Peshawar airport that her department had received information about the smuggling attempt.

Customs staff stopped one person who was preparing to board an Air Blue flight to Karachi and had plans to fly onward to Bangkok.

The passenger identified as Nadeem Aslam, a resident of Bhana Mari area, was carrying a suitcase and a handbag full of small and big relics.

“We have got his remand from a special court for customs for four days,” said the official.

“We hope to arrest his accomplices in Peshawar and other parts of the country,” said Ms Husna.

In response to a query about the estimated value of these relics, she said that the relics would probably fetch millions of rupees in the international market. But she pointed out that the actual value could only be determined by archaeology department officials after a thorough check.

Under the law, all objects that are older than 70 years are classified as antiques. It is illegal to carry statues or any other such objects over 70 years old or even their replicas to a foreign country.