The SBU prevented illegal export of unique edition of Shevchenko's Kobzar.

Allegedly, an intermediary from Kyiv planned to smuggle the rarity. He acted on behalf of the European clients. The offender hired a courier to export the book through the Yahodyn checkpoint. In the offender’s belongings, SBU officers found a collection of poetic publications “Kobzar” by Shevchenko dated 1860.

According to the experts, the seized edition is one of the last lifetime publications of the author. At the European auctions the cost starts from USD 50,000. Currently, only 8 copies of such a publication remain in Ukraine. It is a cultural and historical heritage.

The law enforcement also seized more than 200 silver coins and jewelry from the times of Celtic and Roman cultures.

The seized edition and antiques will be sent for expertise. Based on the results, the SBU is going to serve the offenders suspicion notices of smuggling.

After the pre-trial investigation, the issue of transferring the seized cultural property to the Museum Fund of Ukraine will be considered.

The operation was conducted jointly with the Volyn customs of the State Customs Service of Ukraine.