Russian authorities stop export of one of world’s largest iron meteorites PHOTO

Russian customs authorities have foiled an attempt to export one of the world’s most renowned meteorites to the United Kingdom, uncovering the item during a routine inspection at the port of St. Petersburg.

As the BAZA Telegram channel reports, customs officers scanned a shipping container and discovered an unusually heavy object weighing more than 2.5 tons. The cargo had been declared as a landscape design sculpture. Subsequent expert analysis, however, revealed that the object was in fact a large fragment of the Aletai iron meteorite, estimated to be worth approximately 323 million rubles ($4.01 million).

The Aletai meteorite is considered one of the largest iron meteorites ever discovered on Earth. Its first fragments were found in 1898 in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Scientists believe the meteorite may be a remnant of an ancient protoplanet or a large asteroid that broke apart roughly 4.5 billion years ago.

Authorities said the meteorite had previously been imported into Russia from one of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states and was later allegedly intended to be smuggled to the United Kingdom.

A criminal case has been opened on charges of smuggling strategically important goods, natural resources, or cultural valuables. Under Russian law, the offense carries a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison.

By Vafa Guliyeva