State Partnership Program

Video by Michael Johnson

ICE Returns Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton to Mongolia

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

May 6, 2013 | 5:17

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returned a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton, looted from the Gobi Desert and illegally smuggled into the United States, to the government of Mongolia Monday during a repatriation ceremony at a Manhattan hotel. The Bataar was seized in New York by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents after it sold at a Manhattan auction for $1.05 million.
The return of this cultural property to Mongolia is the culmination of an investigation led by HSI New York and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Available in high definition.