REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TANGERANG -- The Government of Indonesia will investigate the report of human skulls being allegedly smuggled to Australia and New York in the United States.

Head of Subdirectorate of Protection of Cultural Heritage and Museum Preservation of the Ministry of Education and Culture Widiyati stated here on Thursday that the office has received a report that at least 10 human skulls were allegedly smuggled from Indonesia to the two countries.

The smuggled human skulls were believed to be from the Asmat tribe, an ethnic group from the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua.

The skulls were believed to be smuggled by a collector for sale as the global demand for human skulls belonging to ethnic groups has increased, and skulls from Indonesia, a country having various ethnic groups, are one of the most desired by the collectors, Widiyati remarked.

"Human skulls are part of the cultural heritage that should be registered and reported if they are to be taken overseas," Widiyati affirmed.

However, a person may collect human skulls for research and exhibition with a permit from the government but not for trade, she noted.

Previously, customs officials at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport had foiled attempts to smuggle six human skulls out of the country to Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Australia.

The first incident occurred on February 3, when the authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle four human skulls, which were hidden in a saucepan.

The remaining two skulls were delivered at the airport on March 30 in a package, which was declared to contain craft shell, clay, and statues.

The human skulls, which are more than 50 years old, were believed to originate from the Dayak tribe.

The skulls were allegedly sent by a collector to meet the demands of buyers from the two countries.

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