PESHAWAR, May 29: The Khairabad Squad of the Customs Intelligence has arrested two Afghan smugglers and seized 16 artifacts from their possession on the Grand Trank Road.

Customs Intelligence Deputy-Director Saeed Akram told Dawn here on Wednesday that the department had been tipped off that artifacts were being smuggled abroad.

“The smugglers had a plan to hand over these artifacts to their accomplice in Rawalpindi and for onward smuggling to foreign country,” he said.

Two Customs Intelligence teams erected barricades on the road near Khairabad, 62km east of the city on Tuesday and at 3pm, the Khairabad squad stopped a car and seized 38 artifacts, which were wrapped in newspapers and hidden in cavities of the car.

The Afghan smugglers, named as Bashir Ahmad, resident of Gharibabad, and Mir Owais, resident of Swati Phatak, were arrested.

Mr Akram said the Customs Intelligence had sought five days remand of the smugglers, but

District and sessions judge Ziaud Din Khattak granted to the Customs Intelligence a two-day remand of the accused.

When contacted, federal archeology department officials said the seized artifacts dated the period preceding the birth of Jesus Christ and that one goblet-shape artifact was second of its nature in the country.

They said most of the artifacts belonged to the Mehr Garh civilization of Balochistan and some belonged to Central Asian and Afghanistan civilizations.