WASHINGTON,
April 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - U.S. Customs agents
have seized stolen Iraq paintings and military weapons from U.S.
journalists and troops returning from Iraq and charged one with
smuggling, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday, April 24.
Benjamin
James Johnson, an employee of Fox News, was arrested at Washington
Dulles International Airport with paintings of toppled Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein and one of his sons, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted a
U.S. official as saying.
"These
items are not souvenirs or 'war trophies,' but stolen goods that belong
to the people of Iraq," Deputy Secretary Gordon England said at a
news conference where some of the seized objects were displayed.
Customs
officials have been instructed to carefully scrutinize returning
journalists.
Violators
will be treated severely, England threatened.
Johnson
was arrested Thursday after Customs agents found the paintings.
After
first saying he was given the paintings, Johnson admitted he had stolen
them from the home of Saddam's son, Uday, according to a court affidavit
made public.
He
was charged in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, with
smuggling and making false statements.
At
the news conference, officials showed souvenirs taken from other
journalists and U.S. troops, including gold-plated weapons and Iraqi
treasury bonds.
"We
will not tolerate these undignified actions of a few," England
said.
"They
were stealing and they will be brought to justice and prosecuted. This
has to be stopped," Customs operations Chief Michael Dougherty
said.
Some
600 journalists were "embedded" with U.S. troops in and around
Iraq during the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
