Police in central China's Hubei Province have detained 32 people and retrieved 198 historical relics worth at least 100 million yuan (US$16 million) amid a bust against an underground antique market, Wuhan local media reported today.
The cultural relics were mostly bronzes made in the Spring and Autumn period in China (476-770 BC), the Warring States period (475-221 BC), the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25) and the Western Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC-771 AD). Experts said the estimated value of 104 items was more than 100 million yuan and the rest were too previous to be estimated.
Police began to investigate the market following a grave robbery in Hubei's Suizhou in August, 2011. Eight people were caught in the case, with their digging tools seized in a guest house. But the relics had already been sold to a dealer from Shandong Province.
During the investigation, police discovered clues linked to an underground antique market that led them to catch the organizer of the market and retrieve 198 relic items.
By yesterday, 20 of the suspects have been arrested. Police said they suspected some 70 people were involved in the case and they were still hunting the rest at large.
The northern part of Hubei had been the territory of many dynasties in China's history. Therefore, it was seen as a buried treasure in the eye of tomb robbers and illegal antique dealers and brokers, police said. 
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling
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