Turkish police have carried out their largest ever ancient artefact bust in the capital Ankara, seizing 16,398 coins and 399 other historical items dating back to the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.

The Ankara Anti-Smuggling Crimes Branch Office carried out the raid in Mamak, a district in the city of Ankara, in Ankara Province, in central Turkey, and discovered a total of 16,797 historical artefacts in the back of a suspect’s car last Sunday (9th January).

After gathering information, the police had decided to tail the car as they suspected that it was heading towards a meeting point to sell the artefacts.

They retrieved 16,398 coins and 399 historical items belonging to the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. The artefacts, which include numerous different types of coins, had reportedly been stashed all over the car.

Images shared by the police show the artefacts after having been laid out. They include numerous ancient coins as well as a wide variety of different objects, such as jewellery and padlocks.

The suspect, named only as M. C., was taken into custody and the seized items will reportedly be handed over to the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations to be exhibited to visitors.

The suspect has been detained pending charges.