Police in Turkey have busted three people suspected of trying to sell this ancient, jewel-studded Hebrew manuscript on the black market for just GBP 16,000.
The incident took place in the Peyas neighbourhood of the Kayapinar district in the city of Diyarbakir in south-eastern Turkey’s Diyarbakir province.
The footage was shared by the authorities and shows them pulling up to a white van and raiding it.
The footage appears to have been filmed from the passenger seat of a police vehicle, which can be seen following a pickup truck also containing police officers.
Both vehicles can be seen turning off a road and pulling up to the white van, with the pickup truck stopping in front of the van to avoid it pulling away.
The officers can then be seen opening the van and detaining its occupants before searching it.
They quickly locate the ancient Hebrew manuscript, which can be seen resting on the back seat on some plastic and next to a magnifying glass.
The officer filming the raid can be seen handling the diminutive manuscript as the footage ends.
The authorities said the three suspected criminals were reportedly attempting to sell the manuscript for TRY 300,000 (GBP 16,300).
The raid was carried out by the Provincial Gendarmerie Command and saw three people arrested, all of them reportedly residents of the Kayapinar district in Diyarbakir.
The historical artefact was reportedly handed over to the Museum Directorate by the authorities.
It is currently unclear how old the manuscript is and how much it is worth, and it is also unclear if the three suspects had been formally charged at the time of writing.
