Dinosaur Entered U.S. Illegally, Faces Deportation

Dinosaur Entered U.S. Illegally, Faces Deportation

A dino skeleton about to hit it big has been nabbed by the immigration police.

By Patience Haggin | @patiencehaggin | June 21, 2012 |

A 70-million-year-old dinosaur, who may have been about to launch a huge career as a museum star, has been discovered to have entered the U.S. illegally and under false pretenses. He will be swiftly deported and returned to the hands of his home government in Mongolia.

The dino in question is a nearly complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a smaller Asian cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex. The skeleton was auctioned by the Dallas-based firm Heritage Auctions last month for $1.05 million, but — if paleontologists and prosecutors have their way — will never meet his new owner.

After a paleontologist at New York’s Museum of Natural History got suspicious after spotting the fossil in an auction catalogue, Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara cracked down, ordering that the specimen be sent back to its home country of Mongolia, where it was apparently first discovered in the Gobi Desert in the 1940s. The New York office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed a civil complaint asking that Heritage Auctions forfeit the skeleton back to the Mongolian government.

(MORE: Death of the Dinosaurs: The Asteroid Didn’t Act Alone)

This dino was sneaked into the US with false papers and a fake identity, prosecutors charge. It seems that importers lied on nearly every line of his customs forms. The documents stated that Bataar was actually a collection of broken and assorted junk fossil bones worth only $15,000, and that his home country was Great Britain.

But Bataar is being deported not just because he entered the U.S. under false pretenses, but because he is wanted by the Mongolian government. Mongolian law declares all dinosaur fossils to be government property.

(MORE: Discovery of ‘World’s Largest’ Dinosaur Eggs Hatches Doubt)

Bataar is a natural beauty, needing far less artificial reconstruction than many other major fossil finds, and especially rare because he still has 80 percent of his original claws and 75 percent of his original teeth. The famous T. Rex at the American Museum of Natural History in New York is a fake by comparison: that skeleton is actually built out of the remains of two different dinos.

Bharara has pursued Bataar’s deportation not just for legal reasons, but because he is aware of the special contribution that Bataar makes to his home country, and how much his compatriots miss him. “When [Bataar’s] skeleton was allegedly looted, a piece of the country’s natural history was stolen with it, and we look forward to returning it to its rightful place,” Bharara explained in a Department of Justice press release.

Dinosaur Sold at Auction Forfeited back to Mongolia | NewsFeed | TIME.com

HSI takes custody of Tyrannosaurus dinosaur skeleton looted from Mongolia

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent this bulletin at 06/22/2012 04:10 PM EDT

NEW YORK — The nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur was forfeited today to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents. This action stems from an investigation by HSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Bataar dinosaur (the Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton) was looted from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. This forfeiture is the first step to the hopeful repatriation of the fossil to Mongolia.

"I thank and applaud the United States Attorney's Office in this action to recover the Tyrannosaurus Bataar, an important piece of the cultural heritage of the Mongolian people," said Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, president of Mongolia. "Cultural looting and profiteering cannot be tolerated anywhere and this cooperation between our governments is a large step forward to stopping it."

"As alleged, criminal smugglers misrepresented this fossil to customs officials when they illegally imported it into the United States," said ICE Director John Morton. "HSI works diligently to counteract loopholes smuggling organizations use to attempt to facilitate the entry of stolen and looted items into the United States illicitly."


"The skeletal remains of this dinosaur are of tremendous cultural and historic significance to the people of Mongolia, and provide a connection to the country's prehistoric past," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Southern District of New York. "When the skeleton was allegedly looted, a piece of the country's natural history was stolen with it, and we look forward to returning it to its rightful place."

According to court documents, the Tyrannosaurus Bataar, a native of what is now Mongolia, was a dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, approximately 70 million years ago. It was first discovered in 1946 during a joint Soviet-Mongolian expedition to the Gobi Desert in the Mongolian Ömnögovi Province. Since 1924, Mongolia has enacted laws declaring dinosaur fossils to be the property of the Government of Mongolia and criminalizing their export from the country.

On March 27, 2010, the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton was imported into the United States from Great Britain. The customs importation documents contained several misstatements. First, the country of origin of the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton was erroneously listed as Great Britain. However, according to several paleontologists, Tyrannosaurus Bataars have only been recovered in Mongolia. In addition, the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton was substantially undervalued on the importation documents. Customs importation forms listed its value as $15,000, in contrast to the $950,000 to $1.5 million price listed in a 2012 auction catalog. Finally, the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton was incorrectly described on the customs importation documents as two, large, rough fossil reptile heads; six boxes of broken fossil bones; three rough fossil reptiles; one fossil lizard; three rough fossil reptiles and one fossil reptile skull.

Texas-based Heritage Auctions Inc., offered the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton for sale at an auction conducted in New York. Prior to the sale, the Government of Mongolia sought — and was granted by a Texas Civil District Judge — a temporary restraining order prohibiting the auctioning, sale, release or transfer of the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton. Notwithstanding the state court order, Heritage Auctions completed the auction and the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton sold for $1.052 million. The sale, however, is contingent upon the outcome of any court proceedings instituted on behalf of the Mongolian Government.

On June 5, at the request of the President of Mongolia, several paleontologists specializing in Tyrannosaurus Bataars examined the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton and concluded it is a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton that was unearthed from the Western Gobi Desert in Mongolia between 1995 and 2005.

HSI plays a leading role in criminal investigations that involve the unauthorized importation and distribution of cultural property, as well as the illegal trafficking of artwork. The agency specializes in recovering works that have been reported lost or stolen. The HSI Office of International Affairs, through its 70 attaché offices in 47 countries, works closely with foreign governments to conduct joint investigations, when possible.

HSI specially trained investigators, assigned to both domestic and international offices, partner with governments, agencies and experts to protect cultural antiquities. They also train investigators from other nations and agencies on investigating crimes involving stolen property and art, and how to best enforce the law to recover these items when they emerge in the marketplace.

Since 2007, HSI has repatriated more than 2,500 items to more than 23 countries.

Learn more about HSI cultural property, art and antiquities investigations.

# # #
HSI takes custody of Tyrannosaurus dinosaur skeleton looted from Mongolia

I wish that they were as attentive to our Southern Border.