Beirut: Several weeks after being questioned in Lebanon, Interpol has issued an international warrant for a Lebanese man suspected of trafficking stolen antiquities, according to judicial officials on Friday.

The Red Notice was made public ten months after Georges Lotfi, 82, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property and in possession of looted artefacts, and a criminal court in New York issued an arrest warrant for him.

The Interpol warrant, a non-binding request to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they find and temporarily detain a fugitive, was not further discussed by the officials. The notice does not constitute an arrest warrant and Lebanon is not required to detain Lotfi.

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According to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations, the American judiciary sent Lotfi's case to Lebanon and requested that authorities there keep an eye on him.

Lotfi was called by Lebanese authorities for questioning earlier this year, and they claimed he denied allegations that he had stolen artefacts, claiming instead that he had purchased them from archaeologists and sold them to a museum in the US.

Later, they claimed, it was discovered that the 27 artefacts had been taken from a warehouse in Lebanon in 1981. According to the Interpol Red Notice that was published online, Lotfi is accused of first-, second-, and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

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Currently, Lotfi resides in Lebanon, a country rich in priceless archaeological sites.
According to the officials, US authorities agreed to return the artefacts to Lebanon in exchange for Lotfi's arrest by Lebanese authorities.

According to the officials, Lotfi should be detained for questioning and have his passport seized as soon as Lebanon formally receives the Interpol warrant.

The situation in Lotfi's case is not unique. Antiquities theft and smuggling were common in Lebanon during the chaos of the 1975–1990 civil war. Three ancient artefacts that were looted from Lebanon during its civil war and recently found by New York authorities were given to Lebanon in 2018.

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The artefacts included a marble bull's head dating to about 360 B.C. that was discovered decades ago during excavations at a Phoenician temple in south Lebanon. The other two were 4th- and 6th-century B.C. marble torsos.