In the port of St. Petersburg, customs officials prevented an attempt to export a unique cosmic object from Russia. The meteorite, weighing over 2 tons, was presented as a garden decoration, according to reports from Russian media.
According to available information, the perpetrators tried to disguise the artifact by securing it to a metal base and wrapping it in wooden panels. However, during the inspection, the inspectors noticed suspicious details, which allowed them to seize the cosmic stone for further study.
Experts from the Central Expert and Forensic Management determined that the age of the meteorite is about 4.5 billion years. This meteorite, known as "Aletai," has significant historical and scientific value.
The market value of this find was estimated at 323 million rubles.
The name "Aletai" is associated with the location of its original fall — the northern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Law enforcement agencies are currently investigating how this giant fragment ended up on the territory of Russia and who was behind its export.
