British Museum to repatriate ancient tiles smuggled into UK in a suitcase

Ancient artefacts from Samarkand will go on display in London before being returned

The British Museum is to help repatriate six glazed tiles from a medieval memorial complex on the edge of Samarkand, which were brought into Heathrow in a suitcase.

The man who smuggled them in after a flight from Dubai in January even forged paperwork declaring them as replicas that were made to look old". He produced a receipt that claimed they had been bought in Sharjah the previous day for 315 dirham, about 70.