Foreigners buying hundreds of valuable Malacca relics

MALACCA: Hundreds of valuable relics salvaged from waterways here have been sold illegally to foreign relic brokers who are part of an organised syndicate trading in priceless artefacts that can fetch hefty sums when auctioned through cyberspace.

Several renowned antique collectors, who did not want to be identified, told The Star that the brokers paid local runners to buy the artefacts from relic hunters and fishermen.