MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) – Two Chinese citizens have been sentenced to 2 years in Russian prison each for trafficking in cultural property worth 2 million rubles ($30,000), the Investigative Committee’s press service reports Thursday. 

According to investigators, in May 2018, two suspects attempted to illegally carry by air paintings from St. Petersburg to Beijing. They did not receive authorities’ permit for the transportation and did not enter the cultural goods for customs clearing, the statement reads.

The foreigners have pleaded guilty. The paintings have been forfeited to the state.