San Francisco agrees to return religious relics Thailand reported stolen – East Bay Times

SAN FRANCISCO – The city and county of San Francisco have agreed to return a pair of religious relics to Thailand under a settlement reached with the United States, authorities said.

Originally part of ancient Thai temples, the hand-carved 1,500-pound lintels were allegedly illegally exported to the United States more than 50 years and donated to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

In October, a three-year investigation by Homeland Security Investigations culminated in prosecutors filing a civil complaint to forfeit the relics. The museum and the city, which owns the museum’s art collection, consented to return the relics on Wednesday.

“The successful outcome of this investigation helps restore Thailand’s cultural heritage for the appreciation and study of this and future generations,” said Homeland Security…