The recovered artifact. (Photo provided by police)

The recovered artifact.(Photo provided by police) 

BEIJING, May 26 -- Chinese police apprehended 175 tomb raiders in an operation which saw 1,168 cultural relics recovered, the Ministry of Public Security announced on Tuesday.

Described as the biggest swoop of its kind since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the ministry valued the looted artifacts at more than 500 million yuan (80 million U.S. dollars).

The tomb raiders are suspected of illegal excavations in Niuheliang, a Neolithic site in northeastern Liaoning Province. Their activities have seriously damaged the site, said the ministry.

The recovered artifacts include a coiled jade dragon, one of the earliest known representations of the Chinese totem.

Police said the tomb raiders, who belong to ten gangs, had a clear division of labor covering the whole process from excavation to sales. More than 1,000 police officers participated in the operation.