The stolen statue of Queen Victoria standing with a dog, which was recovered from a hotel in Jajpur.Telegraph picture

Jajpur, Nov. 5: The special squad of Jajpur police has busted an antique smuggling racket on Saturday night following the recovery of a statue of Queen Victoria and a dog standing by her side.

The police have arrested three persons involved in the attempted sale of the set — made of ashtadhatu (eight metals) — from a hotel at Vyas Nagar in Jajpur Road police limits of the district. The trio hail from Bhubaneswar. The police are looking for the kingpin of the racket, who escaped during the raid.

The cops have sought help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to make an assessment of the statue. “Their experts would be able to tell us whether the piece is an antique one. The 16-inch statue weighs 5.2kg and the six-inch dog weighs 3.6kg,” said a police officer.

Jajpur superintendent of police Deepak Kumar said: “We had information that an antique smuggling racket was operating from the hotel. We conducted the raid and seized a set having two statues — of Queen Victoria and a dog. This is an organised racket. They have a contact person at Jajpur Road municipal town. He arranges safe passage of the smuggled antiques abroad.”

“The set is made of many precious metals. The gang has been engaged in smuggling antiques for quite some time,” said Kumar.