Priceless Relics Found at Greek Villa Linked to Smuggling Ring

A luxury villa on a remote Aegean isle beloved by jetsetters is believed to be at the centre of an antiquities smuggling web stretching from the Mediterranean to California, Greek authorities said yesterday.

Archaeologists with expertise in the Classical, Hellenistic and Byzantine periods were last night sifting through 300 priceless pieces found in the villa's basement as the country's culture minister described the haul as "one of the most important ever".

The gems, some dating back more than 3,000 years, included marble busts, statues, two granite sphinxes, icons, coins, and Corinthian columns and capitals from Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

The Greek culture minister, George Voulgarakis, said: "This is among the most complex and complicated cases of antiquities smuggling in recent years."

Overlooking a secluded cove on the isle of Schinoussa, in the Cyclades, the house is thought to have been handpicked by the late Christos Michaelides, an art dealer who lived with Robin Symes, a successful antiquities collector until his jailing in 2004. The property now belongs to Michaelides' sister, Despoina Papadimitriou, who lives in London and, her lawyers say, is willing to co-operate with the investigation. Following Michaelides' death in 1999 about 17,000 allegedly stolen artefacts were found in a collection of 289 warehouses owned by Symes.

Officials said yesterday that most of the relics at the villa were wrapped, perhaps waiting to be shipped away. The contents of an entire Doric temple were stashed in a container outside the two-storey house.

One insider at the public order ministry said the authorities hoped the finds would not only shed light on the dealings of Symes and Michaelides but on the "big rings" of antiquities traffickers with whom they were reportedly linked.

"It's just the beginning," a source told the Guardian. "There are other villas in Greece, Cyprus, Europe and even America that we've got on our hit list because this is about protecting our heritage."

Greek police were tipped off about the Schinoussa villa after questioning suspects over two houses police raided on Paros. One villa belonged to Marion True, the former curator credited with building up the Greek and Roman antiquities collection at the J Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California. Ms True, 57, is now on trial in Rome on charges of knowingly buying stolen artefacts. Yesterday Mr Voulgarakis said it was "too early" to say whether the island haul was linked to her.

Ioannis Diotis, a leading prosecutor, is expected to file charges against a host of people from Athenian high society.