 Thanks to a long-running major investigation by the "Tutela Patrimonio Culturale" (or "TPC", the unit of the Italian Carabinieri (military police) specializing in protecting that country's cultural heritage), Giacomo Medici was eventually charged, tried and convicted for his key role in an extensive and highly lucrative international antiquities smuggling ring.For nearly 40 years, the group organised the systematic looting and theft of some of the most valuable Mediterranean artefacts ever found, "laundering" these stolen objects through corrupt international dealers and major auction houses, who then sold them on to major institutions and collectors around the world.Probably the best-known object linked to the Medici gang is the so-called "Sarpedon krater", a unique, signed Attic red figure wine vessel dating from the 5th century BCE, which was painted by Euphronios, one of the most famous ceramic artists of the ancient world.