Phnom Penh, Cambodia

In a moving tale of redemption, a former looter, weakened by cancer, helped Cambodia regain its stolen cultural treasure, a statue. Toek Tik, the former thief, witnessed the return of the stolen Cambodian statue just months before his death.

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Thief turned saviour

Toek Tik joined forces with a team of Cambodian investigators led by American lawyer Brad Gordon in tracking down stolen treasures. 

CBS reports that the looting of Cambodia's cultural treasures began a century ago, intensified during the country's colonisation by France, and became a global business in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s amidst genocide, civil war, and political turmoil.

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Cambodia's temples, holding sacred stone, bronze, and gold artefacts, were easy targets for unscrupulous antiquities collectors. 

Douglas Latchford, a British dealer, was identified as the mastermind behind large-scale looting in Cambodia. Toek Tik had supplied the antiquities' dealer with thousands of looted artefacts.

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"He felt tremendously guilty about many things he had done in his life, about the killing, about the looting," said Gordon, as quoted by CBS.

The mastermind

Despite portraying himself as a scholar and protector of Cambodia's culture, Douglas Latchford was accused of stealing many artefacts featured in his books. 

As per investigators, Latchford sold most of the loot to wealthy collectors, and museums, keeping a few for himself.

"I would say that he was, in many ways, the mastermind behind the greatest art heist in history," remarks Gordon.

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A 2011 auction of a stolen sandstone warrior from Koh Ker brought him to the attention of US law enforcement.

Latchford was indicted by US authorities in 2019 for smuggling, conspiracy, and wire fraud, but he died before facing trial. Testimony of former looters found by the investigators proved critical in the case against Latchford.

"It's quite remarkable to have looters actively assisting a team of investigators to recover artifacts that they had a first hand in helping remove from the country," said J P Labbat, who a former special agent with Homeland Security's cultural property, art, and antiquities unit.

Brad Gordon negotiated the return of Latchford's personal collection of stolen treasures with his family. Some other stolen treasures have been returned by museums. However, other stolen Cambodian antiquities, including those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), are still being sought for repatriation. 

The Met recently reached an agreement to voluntarily return 13 artefacts tied to Latchford. 

As per Phoeurng Sackona, Cambodia's culture minister, the Met's announcement was a "first step". She looks "forward to the return of many more of our treasures," added Sackona.

Additionally, 33 stolen treasures from the collection of the late billionaire George Lindemann are voluntarily being returned by his family.

More than 30 other sculptures were discovered in 2008 when Architectural Digest published images from the Lindemann mansion. The Lindemann family voluntarily agreed to return the stolen treasures in September. 

The artefacts, symbols of Cambodia's gods and ancestors, are on their way home after decades of being displaced, said Gordon. "We feel like the gods have spoken today. They want to come home."

(With inputs from agencies)