. >>> GLOBAL TRADE HAS BEEN SEVERELY DISRUPTED IN THE RED SEA BY A DANGEROUS MILITIA IN
YEMEN, WHO THE U.S. NAVY IS TRYING TO STOP. >> WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT THE U.S. NAVY OPERATED IN THIS
PACE FOR A COUPLE MONTHS? >> I THINK YOU'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO WORLD WAR II, WHERE YOU HAVE SHIPS WHO ARE ENGAGED IN COMBAT.
WHEN I SAY ENGAGED IN COMBAT, WHERE THEY'RE GETTING SHOT AT, WE'RE GETTING SHOT AT, AND WE'RE SHOOTING BACK.
>>> FOR A YEAR, "60 MINUTES" HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING THE THEFT OF CAMBODIA CAMBODIA'S CULTURAL HERITAGE.
THOUSANDS OF SACRED ARTIFACTS FROM RELIGIOUS SITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, LEAVING EMPTY PEDESTALS WHERE GODS AND DEITIES ONCE
STOOD. WE FOUND SOME OF THEM ON DISPLAY AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.
HOW DID THESE LOOTED TREASURES GET THERE, AND WILL THEY EVER BE RETURNED? >> WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF
RETURNING A NUMBER OF THEM. >> ALL OF THEM? >> THAT I CAN'T SAY. >> I'M LESLEY STAHL.
>> I'M BILL WHITAKER. >> I'M ANDERSON COOPER. >> I'M SHARYN ALFONSI. >> I'M JON WERTHEIM.
>> I'M CECELIA VEGA. >> I'M NORAH O'DONNELL. >> I'M SCOTT PELLEY. THOSE STORIES TONIGHT ON "60
MINUTES." >>> AFTER HAMAS LAUNCHED ITS DEADLY TERRORIST ATTACK IN ISRAEL THIS PAST OCTOBER AND
ISRAEL BEGAN ITS UNRELENTING WAR IN GAZA IN RESPONSE, PRESIDENT BIDEN WARNED IRAN AND ITS PROXIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST TO
STAY OUT OF IT. ONE OF THOSE GROUPS DECIDED INSTEAD THAT IT WAS ALL IN. THAT GROUP IS A SHIA MILITIA
FROM YEMEN KNOWN AS THE HOUTHIS. YEMEN IS THE POOREST COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT ITS 1,200 MILES OF COASTLINE LEADS IN AND
OUT OF THE SUEZ CANAL, THE PRIMARY ROUTE BY SEA BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA, RESPONSIBLE FOR A TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN
GLOBAL TRADE. AS WE FIRST REPORTED IN FEBRUARY, WHEN THE HOUTHIS BEGAN TO ATTACK COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN
SOLIDARITY WITH HAMAS, PRESIDENT BIDEN FACED A CRISIS IN THE RED SEA AND SENT THE U.S. NAVY INTO ITS FIRST MAJOR FIGHT OF THE
21st CENTURY. OUR REPORT BEGINS NOT ON THE WATER, BUT IN THE AIR, WHERE FROM A U.S. NAVY RECONNAISSANCE
PLANE 500 FEET ABOVE THE RED SEA, WE SAW THE TYPES OF COMMERCIAL SHIPS THE HOUTHIS HAVE TARGETED AND THE U.S.
WARSHIPS SENT TO PROTECT THEM. >> WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET THE HOUTHIS HOLD THIS STRAIT HOSTAGE.
>> Reporter: VICE ADMIRAL BRAD COOPER IS THE U.S. MILITARY'S DEPUTY COMMANDER IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
AFTER OCTOBER 7th, AS THE NAVY'S TOP OFFICER IN THE REGION, HE ORDERED THE FIFTH FLEET INTO AN AREA IT TYPICALLY SAILED RIGHT
THROUGH. >> HOW MANY SAILORS ARE NOW IN THE RED SEA? >> YEAH, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 7,000
RIGHT NOW. SO IT'S A LARGECOMMITMENT. >> WHAT MAKES THE RED SEA ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WATERWAYS IN
THE WORLD? >> 15% OF GLOBAL TRADE FLOWS EXACTLY THROUGH THE RED SEA. SO KEEPING THESE WATERWAYS OPEN
IS CRITICAL. IT'S A CORE COMMITMENT THE UNITED STATES HAS FROM STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES, MAINTAINING THE
FREE FLOW OF COMMERCE. >> Reporter: THE RED SEA IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF CALIFORNIA. IN THE NORTH, THE SUEZ CANAL.
IN THE SOUTH, THE 20-MILE-WIDE STRAIT KNOWN IN AS "THE GATE OF GRIEF." IT WAS NEAR THERE THREE MONTHS
AGO THAT A JAPANESE CHARTERED SHIP BUILT TO CARRY CARS WAS HIJACKED BY THE HOUTHIS, WHO POSTED THIS VIDEO.
SINCE THEN, ACCORDING TO THE PENTAGON, THE HOUTHIS HAVE LAUNCHED MORE THAN 100 ATTACKS, AND THE U.S. NAVY HAS SHOT DOWN
MORE THAN 150 DRONES AND MISSILES FIRED BY THE MILITIA THAT CONTROLS ONE-THIRD OF YEMEN, INCLUDING THE CAPITAL,
SANAA. AS HOUTHI ATTACKS INTENSIFIED IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY, THE WORLD'S LARGEST CONTAINER SHIP
COMPANIES ALL MADE THE DECISION TO AVOID THE SUEZ AND GO AROUND AFRICA'S CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, ADDING AS MUCH AS A MONTH OF
TRAVEL TIME AND A MILLION DOLLARS IN FUEL. U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR JEROME POWELL TOLD "60 MINUTES"
IN FEBRUARY THE DIVERSIONS POSE A RISK TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. AND IN THE NEAR TERM -- >> THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT EUROPE
MUCH MORE THAN IT'S GOING TO AFFECT US. >> Reporter: TESLA AND VOLVO WERE BOTH FORCED TO SUSPEND SOME
EUROPEAN PRODUCTION IN JANUARY DUE TO SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS. THERE ARE STILL SHIPS GOING THROUGH THE SUEZ, MOSTLY
SMALLER, REGIONAL CARRIERS THAT ARE WILLING TO RUN THE CURRENT RISKS OF THE RED SEA. >> HOW MUCH IS THAT IN TERMS OF
THAT TRAFFIC? HAS IT BEEN REDUCED BY HALF? >> IT'S BEEN REDUCED. ON ANY GIVEN DAY, SOMETIMES 40%.
BUT IT'S CLEARLY FLOWING. I THINK IN MANY RESPECTS, IT'S FLOWING BECAUSE OF THE DEFENSIVE UMBRELLA THAT WE'VE PUT OVER THE
SOUTHERN RED SEA FOR SURE. >> Reporter: THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THAT DEFENSIVE UMBRELLA IS "OPERATION PROSPERITY GUARDIAN."
IT'S A COALITION OF MORE THAN 20 NATIONS THAT INCLUDES THE UNITED KINGDOM. BUT MOST OF THE SHIPS, AIRCRAFT,
AND FIREPOWER ARE COMING FROM AMERICA. >> WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT THE U.S. NAVY OPERATED IN THIS
PACE FOR A COUPLE MONTHS? >> I THINK YOU'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO WORLD WAR II, WHERE YOU HAVE SHIPS WHO ARE ENGAGED IN COMBAT.
WHEN I SAY "ENGAGED IN COMBAT, " WHERE THEY'RE GETTING SHOT AT, WE'RE GETTING SHOT AT, AND WE'RE SHOOTING BACK.
>> Reporter: INITIALLY, THE HOUTHIS, BACKED BY IRAN, STATED THEY WOULD ONLY SHOOT AT SHIPS LINKED TO ISRAEL, IN SUPPORT OF
THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, AND TO FORCE A CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA. THEIR ULTIMATE POLITICAL AIMS, AS WELL AS THEIR ACTUAL AIM,
APPEARS TO BE LESS PRECISE. THEY HAVE FIRED AT SHIPS TIED TO DOZENS OF NATIONS. THE HOUTHIS' OFFICIAL MOTTO IS,
GOD IS GREAT, DEATH TO AMERICA, DEATH TO ISRAEL, A CURSE UPON THE JEWS, VICTORY TO ISLAM. WHILE THEIR SLOGAN MAY NOT BE
NEW, THEIR WEAPONS AND TACTICS ARE, ACCORDING TO ADMIRAL COOPER. >> THE HOUTHIS ARE THE FIRST
ENTITY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD TO USE ANTISHIP BALLISTIC MISSILES EVER, FIRING AT SHIPPING.
>> NO ONE HAS EVER USED -- >> NO ONE HAS EVER USED AN ANTI-SHIP BALLISTIC MISSILE, CERTAINLY AGAINST COMMERCIAL
SHIPPING, MUCH LESS AGAINST U.S. NAVY SHIPS. >> Reporter: ADMIRAL COOPER TOOK US INSIDE THE FIFTH FLEET'S
COMMAND CENTER AT NAVAL HEADQUARTERS IN BAHRAIN. >> I THINK THERE'S A SENSE THAT THE HOUTHIS ARE KIND OF A
RG-TAG KIND OF TERRORIST GROUP. >> YEAH, YEAH. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. THAT CAN BE A SENSE, AND IT
WOULD BE A FALSE SENSE. WE WOULD BE UNWISE TO CONSIDER THAT. YOU HAVE TEN YEARS OF BEING
SUPPLIED BY THE IRANIANS, VERY SOPHISTICATED ADVANCED WEAPONS. THEY HAVE HIT A FEW SHIPS. >> OF THOSE TARGETS, HOW MANY OF
THEM ARE DIRECTED AT U.S. NAVAL ASSETS? >> THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OVER THESE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS
HAVE BEEN DIRECTED AT INTERNATIONALLY FLAGGED MERCHANT SHIPS. A SMALL PERCENTAGE ARE DIRECTLY
AT U.S. NAVY SHIPS. >> WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE WOULD THAT DO ON A COMMERCIAL SHIP? >> LET'S GO RIGHT HERE.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. THE HOUTHIS ATTACKED IT, AND YOU CAN SEE IN PRACTICAL TERMS WHAT
THE DAMAGE WAS. >> Reporter: THE HOUTHIS ALSO HAVE INEXPENSIVE IRANIAN-DESIGNED ATTACK DRONES
IN THEIR ARSENAL, LIKE THE 15-FOOT-WIDE SAMAD, WITH A RANGE OF UP TO 1,100 MILES. SOME OF THEIR ANTI-SHIP
BALLISTIC MISSILES RESEMBLE THE IRANIAN WEAPONS SEEN HERE AND CAN HIT TARGETS UP TO ABOUT 300 MILES AWAY.
>> IF THERE WAS AN ANTI-SHIP BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHED, THIS BALLISTIC MISSILE TRAVELS AT ABOUT MACH 5, ABOUT 3,000 MILES
AN HOUR. >> HOW MUCH TIME IS THERE BETWEEN HOUTHI LAUNCH AND IT COULD REACH A U.S. SHIP?
>> IF IT'S COMING TO THEM -- PUT YOURSELF IN THE SEAT OF THE DESTROYER CAPTAIN ON THAT SHIP. HE HAS 9 TO 15 SECONDS TO MAKE A
DECISION OF WHETHER TO SHOOT THAT DOWN. IT'S INTENSE. >> Reporter: TO SPEAK TO ONE OF
THOSE DESTROYER CAPTAINS DEPLOYED IN THE RED SEA, WE TOOK A FIVE-MILE HELICOPTER RIDE FROM THE "USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER,"
OVER TO THE "USS MASON," WHERE WE MET COMMANDER JUSTIN SMITH. THE DESTROYER IS ONE OF FOUR WARSHIPS IN THE AREA THAT HAVE
SHOT DOWN MORE THAN A DOZEN OF THE HOUTHIS ANTI-SHIP BALLISTIC MISSILES. >> HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU SEE
THOSE? >> ANYWHERE FROM ONE TO TWO MINUTES OUT. TO GIVE ME THE 9 TO 15 SECONDS
AS THE CAPTAIN OF THIS SHIP ON WHAT MY ACTIONS ARE GOING TO BE. >> YOU MADE IT SOUND LIKE THAT'S A LOT OF TIME, 9 TO 15 SECONDS.
DOESN'T SOUND LIKE MUCH. >> IT SEEMS VERY SMALL AND VERY SHORT IN DURATION, BUT MY CREW HAS THAT READY PROFICIENCY TO BE
ABLE TO ENGAGE. >> Reporter: WE LEARNED THAT SO FAR, THE NAVY HAS FIRED MORE THAN 100 OF THEIR STANDARD
SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES THAT CAN COST AS MUCH AS $4 MILLION EACH. >> ROGER, OVER. >> Reporter: THE DECISION TO
FIRE ONE AT AN INCOMING HOUTHI MISSILE OR KAMIKAZE ATTACK DRONE IS MADE IN THE SHIP'S COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER, OR CIC.
>> WE CAN BE ATTACKED AT ANY TIME, IN ANY PLACE. >> Reporter: THAT'S WHERE COMMANDER SMITH SHOWED US A
VIDEO OF THE "USS MASON" DOING JUST THAT. >> SEE AN INTERCEPT HERE FOLLOWED BY A QUICK EXPLOSION,
SHOWING A SUCCESSFUL ENGAGEMENT. >> THE WEAPONS SYSTEMS THAT YOU HAVE ON BOARD HERE, AND SPECIFICALLY THE STANDARD
MISSILES, THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE WEAPONS. AND YOU'RE USING THEM TO SHOOT DOWN $10,000 DRONES.
IS THAT WORTH IT? >> I DON'T THINK YOU CAN PUT A PRICE TAG ON SAFETY AND THE DEFENSE OF OUR SAILORS ON BOARD.
>> YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHT 100% OF THE TIME. >> THEY JUST HAVE TO GET IT RIGHT ONCE.
>> Reporter: A DAY BEFORE OUR VISIT TO THE "USS MASON," ABOUT 100 MILES AWAY, ANOTHER U.S. DESTROYER NEEDED ITS WEAPON OF
LAST RESORT. A DEFENSIVE CANNON CALLED A CIWS TO SHOOT DOWN A HOUTHI CRUISE MISSILE THAT WAS A MILE OUT AND
CLOSING FAST. MOST U.S. WARSHIPS HAVE ONE OF THESE GUN SYSTEMS, SEEN HERE IN EXERCISES.
THE "USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER" HAS TWO. ON THAT SHIP, WITH ITS 5,000 SAILORS AND MORE THAN 75
AIRCRAFT, STRIKE GROUP COMMANDER REAR ADMIRAL MARC MIGUEZ TOLD US THE HOUTHIS HAVE PROVEN TO BE RESOURCEFUL ADVERSARIES.
>> THERE ARE THE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE DRONES THAT THE HOUTHIS ARE LAUNCHING.
HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THEM USED? >> WHEN WE FIRST GOT TO THIS AREA, WE WOULD DETECT THE DRONE, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU
KNOW, TEN MINUTES LATER OR FIVE MINUTES LATER, THERE WAS AN ATTACK. IN OTHER WORDS, A BALLISTIC
MISSILE BEING LAUNCHED OR A CRUISE MISSILE BEING LAUNCHED. AND WE'VE DEDUCED OVER TIME THAT THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY USING THESE
DRONES TO PERFECT THEIR TARGETING SOLUTION. >> Reporter: SINCE THE WAR IN ISRAEL AND GAZA BEGAN, OTHER
IRANIAN-BACKED MILITIAS HAVE TARGETED U.S. FORCES IN JORDAN, IRAQ, AND SYRIA, WITH AT LEAST 175 ATTACKS THAT INJURED 183
SERVICE MEMBERS AND KILLED 3. ADMIRAL MIGUEZ TOLD US SO FAR THE "USS EISENHOWER" HAS ONLY BEEN FOCUSED ON THE HOUTHIS IN
THE SOUTHERN RED SEA. SINCE JANUARY 11th, ITS PLANES HAVE BEEN REGULARLY STRIKING THEIR LAUNCH SITES IN YEMEN, AS
HAVE U.S. DESTROYERS. THE U.S. ALSO CONDUCTED A CYBERATTACK ON AN IRANIAN SPY SHIP THAT WAS GATHERING
INTELLIGENCE IN AND AROUND THE RED SEA. BUT THE HOUTHI ATTACKS KEEP COMING.
>> COULD THE HOUTHIS DO THIS WITHOUT IRANIAN SUPPORT? >> NO. FOR A DECADE, THE IRANIANS HAVE
BEEN SUPPLYING THE HOUTHIS. THEY'VE BEEN RESUPPLYING THEM. THEY'RE RESUPPLYING THEM AS WE SIT HERE RIGHT NOW AT SEA.
WE KNOW THIS IS HAPPENING. THEY'RE ADVISING THEM, AND THEY'RE PROVIDING TARGETING INFORMATION.
THIS IS CRYSTAL CLEAR. >> ARE THERE MEMBERS OF IRAN'S ELITE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS THAT ARE ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND,
IN YEMEN, PROVIDING INTELLIGENCE AND TARGETING? >> THE IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS IS INSIDE YEMEN, AND
THEY ARE SERVING SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE HOUTHIS, ADVISING THEM AND PROVIDING TARGETING INFORMATION.
>> SO WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO DEGRADE THAT CAPABILITY? >> THAT WILL OBVIOUSLY END UP BEING A POLICY DECISION.
OUR ROLE AT THIS POINT IS TO SIMPLY BE READY AND CONTINUE TO BE AGGRESSIVE IN EXERCISING OUR RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE.
>> DO THESE OFFENSIVE U.S. AIR STRIKES AGAINST THESE HOUTHI TARGETS IN YEMEN RISK ESCALATING THIS CONFLICT?
>> I DON'T THINK SO. WE'RE TARGETING THOSE PLATFORMS THAT ARE TARGETING US. >> IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THE
CALENDAR, RIGHT, SINCE OCTOBER 7th, THE SURGING OF U.S. FORCES. >> SURE. >> TO THE RED SEA.
AND YET THEY KEEP FIRING BACK. THEY KEEP SEEMING TO BE OPPORTUNISTIC IN THEIR RESPONSE. IS THE U.S. NAVY, THE FIFTH
FLEET -- ARE THE ACTIONS HAVING AN EFFECT? >> IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT WE ARE DEGRADING THEIR CAPABILITY.
AND EVERY SINGLE DAY THEY ATTEMPT TO ATTACK US, WE'RE ELIMINATING AND DISRUPTING THEM IN WAYS THAT ARE MEANINGFUL AND
I DO BELIEVE HAVE AN IMPACT. >> HOW LONG DOES THIS GO ON? >> I HAVE A PRETTY CLEAR END GAME IN MIND, AND THAT IS THE
RESTORATION OF THE FREE FLOW OF COMMERCE AND SAFE NAVIGATION OF THE SOUTHERN RED SEA. >> Reporter: FOUR MONTHS AFTER
OUR REPORT FIRST AIRED, THE HOUTHIS ARE STILL ON THE ATTACK IN THE RED SEA. SO FAR, THEY HAVE SUNK TWO CARGO
SHIPS, THE SECOND JUST THIS PAST WEEK. OVERALL, SHIPPING TRAFFIC REMAINS ABOUT HALF OF WHAT IT
WAS BEFORE THE ATTACKS BEGAN.
>> Announcer: WHAT'S THE SECRET WEAPON ON THE "USS EISENHOWER"? >> MORALE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
>>> THE THEFT OF CAMBODIA'S CULTURAL TREASURES, THOUSANDS OF SACRED STONE, BRONZE, AND GOLD ARTIFACTS FROM RELIGIOUS SITES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, MIGHT JUST BE THE GREATEST ART HEIST IN HISTORY. IT BEGAN NEARLY A CENTURY AGO
WHEN CAMBODIA WAS COLONIZED BY FRANCE. BUT IN THE 1970s, '80s, AND '90s, AMIDST GENOCIDE, CIVIL
WAR, AND POLITICAL TURMOIL, THE LOOTING BECAME A GLOBAL BUSINESS, MUCH OF IT RUN BY A BRITISH MAN NAMED DOUGLAS
LATCHFORD. HE KEPT SOME OF IT FOR HIMSELF, BUT MUCH OF WHAT HIS GANG OF THIEVES SOLD, LATCHFORD THEN
SOLD TO WEALTHY PRIVATE COLLECTORS AND SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD.
AS WE FIRST REPORTED IN DECEMBER, CAMBODIA'S GOVERNMENT HAS SPENT THE LAST TEN YEARS TRYING TO TRACK IT ALL DOWN AND
BRING THEIR HISTORY AND HERITAGE HOME. ANGKOR WAT, WITH ITS TOWERING SPIRES, IS THE GLORY OF
CAMBODIA. NEARLY A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, IT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST EXTRAORDINARY RELIGIOUS TEMPLES
IN THE WORLD, AUSTRALISPRAWLING 400 ACRES. ORIGINALLY BUILT TO HONOR THE HINDU GOD VISHNU, IT REMAINS A
PLACE OF WORSHIP TODAY. YOU CAN WANDER HERE FOR WEEKS, LOST IN A LABYRINTH OF ANCIENT STONE CORRIDORS AND SACRED
CHAMBERS. BUT THE SCARS OF PLUNDER RUN DEEP. LOOTERS HAVE HACKED OFF THE
HEADS OF MANY STATUES. THEY'VE STOLE RNEN BODIES AS WELL. EMPTY PEDESTALS MARK WHERE GODS
AND DEITIES ONCE STOOD. ON SOME, ONLY THE FEET REMAIN. IT'S WORSE IN THE REST OF CAMBODIA'S 4,000 TEMPLES.
NEARLY ALL HAVE BEEN LOOTED. THIS ONE IS 100 MILES NORTHEAST OF ANGKOR WAT ON A REMOTE MOUNTAIN CALLED SANDAK.
>> THIS WAS HIT VERY HEAVILY BY THE LOOTING GANGS. THEY FOUND GOLD. THEY FOUND STATUES.
THEY FOUND MANY, MANY THINGS. >> Reporter: THAT'S BRAD GORDON, AN AMERICAN LAWYER WHO HAS BEEN WORKING FOR THE CAMBODIAN
GOVERNMENT FOR TEN YEARS, TRACKING DOWN ITS STOLEN TREASURES. HE BROUGHT US TO SANDAK WITH HIS
TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS, ARCHAEOLOGISTS, AND ART SCHOLARS. >> THIS IS SO COOL.
>> Reporter: IN THE TEMPLE'S CRUMBLING COURTYARD, LITTLE REMAINS, MOSTLY EMPTY PEDESTALS SCATTERED AMONG THE SRALAO
TREES. >> IT'S REMARKABLE JUST HOW MUCH STUFF IS SCATTERED ON THE GROUND.
>> YES. IT'S LIKE A PEDESTAL GRAVEYARD. >> WE'VE ALL SEEN IN MUSEUMS THESE STATUES WITH NO FEET ON
THEM, AND I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZE THE FEET WERE HACKED OFF BECAUSE IN ORDER TO STEAL THEM, THAT'S THE EASIEST WAY TO GET
THEM OFF THE PEDESTAL. >> WE KNOW WHEN THE LOOTERS CAME TO SITES LIKE THIS, THE FIRST THING THEY TOOK WAS THE HEADS.
THAT WAS THE EASIEST TO GRAB. THEN LATER ON, MAYBE THEY COME BACK AND GET THE TORSO. BUT THEY WERE NOT VERY CAREFUL,
SO THEY LEFT BEHIND PIECES. >> Reporter: FOR CAMBODIANS, THESE STATUES ARE NOT JUST WORKS OF ART.
THEY ARE SACRED DEITIES THAT HOLD THE SOULS OF THEIR ANCESTORS TO WHOM THEY ASK FOR GUIDANCE AND PRAY.
>> THIS IS INCREDIBLE. THESE WERE ALL LOOTED? >> YES, ALL LOOTED. >> ALL OF THESE HEADS CUT OFF?
>> THE HEAD WAS CUT OFF, YES. >> Reporter: PHOEURNG SACKONA, CAMBODIA'S MINISTER OF CULTURE, IS IN CHARGE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S
EFFORTS TO TRACK DOWN THEIR STOLEN GODS. WE MET HER IN A CLOSELY GUARDED WAREHOUSE NOT FAR FROM ANGKOR
WAT, WHERE MORE THAN 6,000 PIECES FROM TEMPLES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE STORED FOR SAFEKEEPING, EACH ONE SCULPTED
BY AN ARTISAN FROM AN ANCIENT KHMER EMPIRE THAT LASTED FOR MORE THAN FIVE CENTURIES AND SPANNED CAMBODIA, LAOS,
THAILAND, AND VIETNAM. >> SO THE STATUES HAVE A SOUL? THE STATUES, ARE THEY LIVING? >> FOR US, YES.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN TALK WITH THEM. THEY WILL HEAR. THEY WILL SEE.
WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT DO YOU SEE? WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR LIFE, IN YOUR HOUSE, OUTSIDE IN THE
SOCIETY ALSO? SO THAT -- >> THEY'RE WATCHING? >> THEY'RE WATCHING EVERYWHERE.
>> Reporter: PHOEURNG SACKONA'S ENTIRE FAMILY WAS KILLED IN THE GENOCIDE THAT BEGAN IN 1975 WHEN THE KHMER ROUGE, A RADICAL
COMMUNIST GROUP, TOOK OVER, FORCING MILLIONS OF CAMBODIANS INTO LABOR CAMPS. SOME 2 MILLION PEOPLE, NEARLY A
QUARTER OF THE POPULATION, WERE SLAUGHTERED OR STARVED TO DEATH. THE KHMER ROUGE LOST POWER IN 1979, BUT FIGHTING AND
INSTABILITY CONTINUED FOR DECADES, LEAVING CAMBODIA'S TEMPLES UNPROTECTED AND VULNERABLE, EASY TARGETS FOR
UNSCRUPULOUS ANTIQUITIES DEALERS LIKE DOUGLAS LATCHFORD. >> WHO WAS DOUGLAS LATCHFORD? >> I WOULD SAY THAT HE WAS IN
MANY WAYS THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE GREATEST ART HEIST IN HISTORY. >> THE GREATEST ART HEIST IN
HISTORY? >> YES, IN TERMS OF SCOPE AND MULTITUDE OF CRIME SITES AND THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF STATUES THAT
WERE TAKEN OUT. >> Reporter: LATCHFORD LIVED IN THAILAND. AN ENIGMATIC BRITISH
BUSINESSMAN, HE BEGAN COLLECTING IN THE 1960s. HEHAD, IT SEEMS, TWO GREAT LOVES -- CAMBODIAN ANTIQUITIES
AND THAI BODY BUILDERS. HE SPONSORED BANGKOK'S BIGGEST BODYBUILDING COMPETITION, THE LATCHFORD CLASSIC.
>> HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIM? >> HE WAS EXTREMELY DECEPTIVE. I THINK IN MANY WAYS HE WAS RUTHLESS.
BUT HE HID THAT BEHIND THIS INCREDIBLE FACADE OF CHARM. >> Reporter: LATCHFORD PORTRAYED HIMSELF AS A SCHOLAR AND
PROTECTOR OF CAMBODIA'S CULTURE, A REPUTATION HE BURNISHED BY DONATING SCULPTURES TO THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN
NEW YORK AND OTHER PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. HE ALSO PUBLISHED THREE BOOKS FILLED WITH THE FINEST EXAMPLES
OF CAMBODIAN ANTIQUITIES. MANY OF THEM, IT TURNS OUT, LATCHFORD HAD STOLEN. >> HE WAS USING THE BOOKS TO
SELL HIS CATALOGS. HE WAS HANDING THEM OUT. HE WAS USING THEM TO SELL PIECES, AND HE UNDERSTOOD A
CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGY OF COLLECTORS OUT THERE THAT IF THEY SEE SOMETHING IN A BEAUTIFUL BOOK, THEY THINK IT'S LEGITIMATE.
>> Reporter: THOSE BOOKS HAVE BEEN AN INVALUABLE GUIDE FOR BRAD GORDON AND HIS TEAM, HELPING THEM COMPILE A DATABASE
OF THOUSANDS OF MISSING ARTIFACTS, MANY OF WHICH THEY DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED UNTIL LATCHFORD PUBLISHED PHOTOS OF
THEM. GORDON'S TEAM GOT THEIR BIG BREAK WHEN THEY MET THIS MAN IN 2012.
HE WAS A FORMER KHMER ROUGE CHILD SOLDIER AND LEADER OF A GANG OF LOOTERS. HIS NAME WAS TOEK TIK.
>> THAT FIRST MEETING, I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHO WE HAD MET. I KNEW THAT HE WAS IMPORTANT. I KNEW THAT MANY PEOPLE WERE
TELLING ME HE WAS THE BEST. AND I KNEW THAT HE WAS FEARED. >> WHY WERE PEOPLE AFRAID OF HIM?
>> YOU KNOW, OVER THE YEARS, HE HAD KILLED MANY PEOPLE. >> Reporter: IT TURNED OUT TOEK TIK HAD WORKED FOR DECADES
SUPPLYING LATCHFORD WITH THOUSANDS OF TREASURES, AND HE WAS AMAZED TO SEE THEM AGAIN IN LATCHFORD'S BOOKS.
>> HE KEPT OPENING THE BOOK AND GOING BACK TO THE FRONT COVER AND GOING THROUGH AND TAPPING AND SAYING, I KNOW THIS ONE, I
KNOW THIS ONE, I KNOW THIS ONE. >> WHEN HE SAYS HE KNEW THIS ONE, IT MEANS HE HELPED LOOT THOSE ONES?
>> THAT'S WHAT WE LEARNED LATER, YEAH. >> Reporter: TOEK TIK BECAME A KEY CONFIDENTIAL SOURCE FOR
GORDON'S TEAM. THEY GAVE HIM A CODE NAME, LION, TO PROTECT HIS IDENTITY AND FOLLOWED HIM TO DOZENS OF
TEMPLES, WHERE HE CONFESSED WHAT HE'D FOUND AND HOW HE'D STOLEN IT. >> HE WOULD SAY TO US, I'M GOING
TO TRANSFER EVERYTHING IN MY HEAD TO YOU. I'M GOING TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING, EVERY SECRET.
>> YOU FELT LIKE HIS MEMORY WAS VERY GOOD? IT WAS ACCURATE? >> OH, IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
HE REMEMBERED THE SIZE OF EVERYTHING MEASURED AGAINST HIS BODY. HE WOULD USE HIS ARM TO SHOW US
HOW LONG A STATUE WAS. >> WHY DO YOU THINK HE WANTED TO COOPERATE? >> YOU KNOW, HE FELT
TREMENDOUSLY GUILTY ABOUT MANY THINGS HE HAD DONE IN HIS LIFE, ABOUT THE KILLING, ABOUT THE LOOTING, AND WE OFFERED HIM A
ROAD TO REDEMPTION, A WAY TO DO SOMETHING REALLY GOOD AT THE END OF HIS LIFE. >> Reporter: THEY RECORDED
HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF LION'S TESTIMONY. HE EXPLAINED HOW GANGS OF LOOTERS WOULD SPEND WEEKS AT
REMOTE TEMPLES USING SHOVELS, CHISELS, METAL DETECTORS, EVEN DYNAMITE TO FIND AND DIG OUT TREASURES.
DOZENS OF MEN WOULD HOIST HEAVY STONE STATUES ONTO OX CARTS BEFORE TRANSPORTING THEM ACROSS THE BORDER INTO THAILAND AND
INTO THE HANDS OF DOUGLAS LATCHFORD. LION NEVER MET LATCHFORD, BUT HE'D SEND HIM PHOTOGRAPHS OF
ARTIFACTS HE COULD CHOOSE FROM. >> WE HEAR ABOUT THEM SAYING, OH, HE HAD TO GO TO A TEMPLE AND TAKE THIS PHOTO, AND THEN
SENDING IT BACK. MY SENSE WAS HE WAS SHOPPING. HE HAD A LIST. THE LOOTERS KNEW HIS PRIORITIES.
>> Reporter: LIKE THESE, WHICH CAME FROM A TEMPLE COMPLEX CALLED KOH KER. THE STATUES THERE HAD A
DISTINCTIVE STYLE THAT LATCHFORD LOVED. IT WAS, HOWEVER, A DANGEROUS BUSINESS.
MOST LOOTERS ONLY MADE ENOUGH TO BUY FOOD FOR THEIR FAMILIES, AND FIGHTING BETWEEN RIVAL GANGS WAS COMMON.
>> PEOPLE WERE KILLED OVER THESE ANTIQUITIES. DO YOU LOOK AT THESE AS BLOOD STATUES?
>> FOR SURE. THEY'RE BLOOD ANTIQUITIES. WHENEVER I SEE A STATUE, I THINK ABOUT WHO DIED TO GET THIS OUT
OF THE GROUND OR GET IT OUT OF A TEMPLE AND TO MOVE IT HERE. SO MUCH OF THIS LOOTING WAS DONE IN THE SHADOW OF THE WAR, SHADOW
OF THE GENOCIDE. >> Reporter: IT WAS THIS 500 POUND SANDSTONE WARRIOR FROM KOH KER THAT APPEARED IN A SOTHEBY'S
AUCTION CATALOG IN 2011 THAT PUT DOUGLAS LATCHFORD ON THE RADAR OF U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT. ITS FEET WERE MISSING, AND THE
PRICE TAG AN ESTIMATED $2 MILLION TO $3 MILLION. >> WHEN IT APPEARED IN THE MARKET, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF
ARCHAEOLOGISTS, A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED THAT THE SOURCE OF THE STATUE AS BEING A SPECIFIC
TEMPLE IN CAMBODIA. >> IT CAME FROM KOH KER? >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Reporter: UNTIL HE RETIRED
LAST SEPTEMBER, JP LABBAT WAS A SPECIAL AGENT ON THE CULTURAL PROPERTY, ART, AND ANTIQUITIES UNIT WITH HOMELAND SECURITY.
>> A TEAM FROM THE U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AT THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK TRAVELED TO CAMBODIA TO INSPECT
THE SITE WHERE THE STATUE HAD BEEN REMOVED. AND SO THE BASE WAS STILL THERE WITH THE FEET STILL IN THE
GROUND, AND SO THEY WERE ABLE TO MATCH THAT BASE AND FEET TO THE STATUE. >> AND THAT WAS ENOUGH EVIDENCE
TO GET THE STATUE PULLED OFF THE MARKET? >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Reporter: AFTER YEARS OF
LEGAL WRANGLING, SOTHEBY'S FINALLY AGREED TO SEND THIS STOLEN WARRIOR BACK TO CAMBODIA. A CEREMONY WAS HELD WELCOMING IT
HOME, AND INVESTIGATORS WERE ABLE TO TRACE ITS ORIGINAL SALE BACK TO DOUGLAS LATCHFORD, WHO WAS ASKED ABOUT ITS REPATRIATION
IN A GERMAN DOCUMENTARY IN 2014. >> IS IT A GOOD DAY FOR CAMBODIA, OR IS IT A BAD DAY FOR THE ART MARKET IF THESE THINGS
ARE COMING BACK? >> IT'S A GOOD DAY FOR CAMBODIA. IT'S A BAD DAY FOR THE ART MARKET.
>> Reporter: LAW ENFORCEMENT IN NEW YORK WAS CLOSING IN ON LATCHFORD, BUT HE CLAIMED PROSECUTORS HAD HIM ALL WRONG.
>> THEIR IMAGINATION HAS GONE WILD. THEY'VE SEEN TOO MANY INDIANA JONES FILMS.
AS FAR AS I KNOW, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SMUGGLING NETWORK, AND I CERTAINLY DON'T BELONG TO ANY SMUGGLING NETWORK.
>> THE ATTEMPTED SALE OF THIS STATUE IN 2011, WAS THAT A TURNING POINT IN THE UNRAVELING OF DOUGLAS LATCHFORD?
>> I WOULD SAY YES. THAT CASE PUT MORE OF A FOCUS AND A SPOTLIGHT ON HIM. AND THEN EFFORTS WERE THEN
DOUBLED TO, LIKE, REALLY PEEL BACK THE ONION AND LOOK INTO LATCHFORD'S ACTIVITIES. >> Reporter: THE TESTIMONY OF
FORMER LOOTERS FOUND BY BRAD GORDON AND HIS TEAM WAS CRITICAL FOR THE U.S. ATTORNEY'S CASE AGAINST LATCHFORD.
>> HOW RARE IS IT TO ACTUALLY HAVE ACCESS TO THE LOOTERS, TO PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY STOLE THESE THINGS 10, 20, 30 YEARS AGO?
>> I KNOW OF NO OTHER CASE WHERE THAT'S HAPPENED, AND IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE TO HAVE LOOTERS ACTIVELY ASSISTING A TEAM OF
INVESTIGATORS TO RECOVER ARTIFACTS THAT THEY HAD A FIRST HAND IN HELPING REMOVE FROM THE COUNTRY.
>> Reporter: DOUGLAS LATCHFORD WAS FINALLY INDICTED BY U.S. AUTHORITIES IN 2019 FOR SMUGGLING, CONSPIRACY, WIRE
FRAUD, AND OTHER CHARGES. BUT HE DIED BEFORE HE COULD BE PUT ON TRIAL. BRAD GORDON EVENTUALLY CONVINCED
LATCHFORD'S FAMILY TO RETURN HIS PERSONAL COLLECTION OF STOLEN TREASURES. AMONG THE FIRST PIECES TO COME
HOME IN 2021 WAS THIS STATUE FROM KOH KER. LION, WEAKENED BY CANCER, CAME TO INSPECT IT IN CAMBODIA'S
NATIONAL MUSEUM TO VERIFY IT WAS THE SAME ONE HE'D DUG OUT OF THE GROUND. >> AND THEN HE TURNED TO ME, AND
HE SAID, IT'S THE REAL STATUE. YOU KNOW, IT WAS A REMARKABLE THING TO WATCH, AND JUST HIS -- HIS RELATIONSHIP.
IT -- IT WAS LIVING TO HIM. >> DO YOU THINK HE WAS HAPPY IT WAS BACK? >> THRILLED.
SO HAPPY. HE KNEW THAT HE HAD DONE SOMETHING GOOD. >> Reporter: LION DIED A FEW
MONTHS LATER, BUT THE SECRETS HE REVEALED CONTINUE TO BRING STATUES BACK TO CAMBODIA'S NATIONAL MUSEUM.
MASTERPIECES THAT LEFT THE COUNTRY LONG BEFORE THESE SCHOOLCHILDREN WERE BORN. >> DOES THE RETURN OF THESE
STATUES, THESE GODS, HELP SOME TO HEAL? >> YES, TO GET BACK THE SOUL OF THE NATION.
>> THE SOUL OF THE NATION? >> IT'S NOT ONLY FOR ME BUT ALL OF MY FAMILY WHO WAS DIED DURING THE WAR, AND FOR ALL CAMBODIAN
PEOPLE. >> Reporter: THERE ARE STILL MANY MORE STOLEN CAMBODIAN STATUES AND ARTIFACTS IN MUSEUMS
AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD. WHEN WE RETURN, CAMBODIA'S FIGHT TO GET THOSE LOOTED RELICS BACK.
>>> IT'S TAKEN A TEAM OF CAMBODIAN INVESTIGATORS LED BY BRAD GORDON, AN AMERICAN LAWYER, MORE THAN TEN YEARS TO DOCUMENT
THE THEFT OF THOUSANDS OF ANCIENT STATUES AND RELICS BY A BRITISH COLLECTOR NAMED DOUGLAS LATCHFORD.
AS WE REPORTED LAST DECEMBER, THEY'VE MANAGED TO GET SOME OF WHAT HE TOLD BACK, BUT MANY OF CAMBODIA'S GREATEST TREASURES
ARE STILL OUT THERE, HIDDEN AWAY IN THE MANSIONS OF MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES AND HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT ON DISPLAY IN SOME
OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN NEW YORK HAS ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS OF CAMBODIAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE WORLD. BUT MANY OF THE FINEST PIECES ON
DISPLAY HERE IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART WING ARE STOLEN, LIKE THIS ONE AND THIS ONE. THIS AS WELL.
ALL PASSED THROUGH THE HANDS OF DOUGLAS LATCHFORD. LATCHFORD SOLD THIS ONE TO THE MET IN THE EARLY 1990s.
THIS ONE HE DONATED. >> DO YOU THINK PEOPLE VISITING THE MET KNOW THAT THESE WERE LOOTED?
>> I THINK MOST PEOPLE WHO WALK THROUGH THE MET, THEY HAVE NO IDEA THOSE ARE BLOOD ANTIQUITIES.
THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HISTORY IS BEHIND THOSE PIECES. THEY DON'T KNOW THE TEMPLES THEY CAME FROM.
THEY DON'T KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO WERE KILLED TO GET THEM HERE. >> THE DIRT HAS BEEN BRUSHED OFF.
THERE'S A LITTLE NOTE THAT SAYS WHERE IT CAME FROM. SHOULD PEOPLE BELIEVE WHAT'S ON THAT LITTLE NOTE?
>> NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. >> Reporter: LAST YEAR, WE WENT WITH BRAD GORDON TO SEE WHERE IN CAMBODIA THE MET AND OTHER
MUSEUMS' COLLECTIONS REALLY DID COME FROM. >> THIS IS INCREDIBLE. >> Reporter: THIS SEVEN-STORY
PYRAMID IS MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS OLD AND RISES OUT OF THE JUNGLE IN KOH KER IN NORTHEAST CAMBODIA.
IT'S ONE OF DOZENS OF TEMPLES IN WHAT WAS ONCE THE CAPITAL OF AN ANCIENT KHMER EMPIRE. >> LOOTERS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER
THIS SITE FOR DECADES. >> CORRECT. >> DOUGLAS LATCHFORD LOVED THE STATUARY.
>> IN LOVE WITH THE BEAUTY, IN LOVE WITH THE ARTISTIC. >> THE STATUES HAVE A DISTINCTIVE STYLE THAT HE
PARTICULARLY LOVED. >> CORRECT. >> Reporter: AND PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS STATUES IN THAT
DISTINCTIVE STYLE THAT LATCHFORD STOLE FROM KOH KER WERE NINE STONE WARRIORS, ONCE ARRANGED TOGETHER IN A BATTLE SCENE.
TODAY SEVEN HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN PHNOM PENH, INCLUDING THIS 500-POUND SANDSTONE SCULPTURE.
IT'S THE ONE SOTHEBY'S TRIED TO SELL IN 2011. THEY'RE BACK ON THEIR ORIGINAL PEDESTALS, THEIR ANKLES REUNITED
WITH THEIR FEET HACKED OFF BY LOOTERS. >> THIS WAS AT SOTHEBY'S. THIS WAS AT CHRISTIE'S.
>> NORTON SIMON. >> Reporter: HAB TOUCH IS THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN CAMBODIA'S MINISTRY OF CULTURE.
HE'S WORKING WITH BRAD GORDON TO BRING BACK THE TWO KOH KER STATUES WHOSE EMPTY PEDESTALS SIT IN THE MUSEUM.
>> SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON -- >> WE KNOW. >> YOU KNOW WHAT ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE HERE, AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S -- >> WE KNOW. >> -- SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. >> AMONG NINE SCULPTURES, WE
HAVE SEVEN ALREADY. ONLY TWO MISSING. >> Reporter: ONE OF THOSE MISSING SCULPTURES WAS
DISCOVERED IN THE GLOSSY PAGES OF "ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST" IN 2008. THIS MYTHICAL ARMY COMMANDER AND
A STUNNING NUMBER OF OTHER STOLEN WORKS WERE ALL TOGETHER IN THE PALM BEACH MANSION OF THE LATE BILLIONAIRE GEORGE
LINDEMANN AND HIS WIFE, FRAYDA. >> THE ANCIENT TREASURES OF CAMBODIA WERE SITTING IN THE LIVING ROOM OF AN INCREDIBLY
WEALTHY FAMILY IN AMERICA, IN FLORIDA, ON DISPLAY WHILE PEOPLE WERE HAVING COCKTAILS. >> THE ONE THING THAT I'M ALWAYS
STRUCK BY IS HOW MANY PEOPLE WITNESSED IT AND HAVE BEEN SILENT AND CONTINUE TO BE SILENT TODAY.
>> Reporter: THE LINDEMANNS SPENT AN ESTIMATED $20 MILLION BUILDING THE COLLECTION WITH THE HELP OF DOUGLAS LATCHFORD.
FRAYDA LINDEMANN DIDN'T RESPOND TO OUR REQUEST FOR AN INTERVIEW. BUT IN KOH KER, WE SHOWED HER HOME TO TWO FORMER LOOTERS.
>> WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS HOUSE? "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE," HE SAID.
"IT LOOKS LIKE IT BELONGS TO A KING." THE FORMER LOOTERS POINTED OUT ANOTHER STATUE IN THE
LINDEMANNS' LIVING ROOM THEY SAID THEY HELPED STEAL. THIS RECLINING FIGURE OF THE HINDU GOD VISHNU.
THEY SAID IT WAS DUG OUT OF THE GROUND FROM THIS EXACT SPOT IN LATE 1995. >> YOU'RE 100% SURE THIS WAS
TAKEN FROM HERE BY YOU AND OTHERS IN 1995. >> Translator: YEAH, I'M SURE. >> Reporter: THEY ALSO
IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF OTHER STATUES THEY SAY THEY STOLE THAT APPEAR IN BOOKS PUBLISHED BY DOUGLAS LATCHFORD.
THEY SAY THEY FOUND THIS COPPER STATUE USING A METAL DETECTOR. >> THIS IS BODHISATTVA AT EASE? >> YEAH.
>> Reporter: THEY DUG IT OUT OF THE GROUND HERE IN 1990. JP LABBAT, FORMER SPECIAL AGENT WITH HOMELAND SECURITY, FOUND
PHOTOS OF THE STATUE COVERED IN DIRT ON DOUGLAS LATCHFORD'S COMPUTER. LATCHFORD SOLD IT TO THE MET IN
1992, AND HERE IT IS STILL ON DISPLAY. >> YOU WERE ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO SOME OF LATCHFORD'S EMAILS?
>> YES. AND IN THERE, THERE ARE DETAILED STORIES ABOUT THE MANNER IN WHICH HE OBTAINED PIECES, THE
FACT THAT HE WAS HAVING THEM REASSEMBLED AND REPAIRED, THAT DIRT AND CRUSTACEANS WERE BEING CLEANED OFF OF THEM.
>> THEY WERE FRESHLY DUG OUT OF THE GROUND. >> THESE WERE FRESH PIECES THAT HE WOULD DESCRIBE IN HIS EMAILS
THAT NEEDED A LEVEL OF RESTORATION BEFORE HE COULD EVEN ATTEMPT TO SELL THEM. >> Reporter: DOUGLAS LATCHFORD
WAS INDICTED IN 2019 BUT DIED BEFORE HE COULD BE PUT ON TRIAL. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS IN NEW YORK, HOWEVER, CONTINUE TRACING HIS
LOOTED ARTIFACTS. THEY BELIEVE AT LEAST 18 OF THEM HAVE LANDED UP AT THE MET. >> I AM VERY INVOLVED IN OUR
WORK ON PROVENANCE. >> Reporter: ANDREA BAYER IS DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR COLLECTIONS AND ADMINISTRATION AT THE MET.
>> THE MET HAS SAID THEY WILL RETURN OBJECTS BASED UPON RIGOROUS EVIDENTIARY REVIEW. WHAT RIGOROUS EVIDENTIARY REVIEW
WAS DONE BEFORE ACQUIRING THESE PIECES? >> NOT ENOUGH. >> IT SEEMS LIKE THE MET HAD A
DON'T ASK/DON'T TELL POLICY. THEY WANTED TO BUILD UP THEIR COLLECTION, AND NOBODY WAS REALLY ASKING QUESTIONS WHERE IT
CAME FROM. >> FOR PEOPLE, MANY PEOPLE IN THE ART WORLD, THERE WAS A SENSE OF PROTECTING GREAT OBJECTS THAT
STOOD A CHANCE OF BEING DESTROYED. WE NO LONGER FEEL ABOUT IT THAT WAY.
>> Reporter: UNDER PRESSURE TEN YEARS AGO, THE MET DID RETURN TWO STATUES CALLED KNEELING ATTENDANTS, WHICH HAD BEEN
DONATED TO THEM BY DOUGLAS LATCHFORD. >> IN 2013, WHEN YOU RETURNED THE KNEELING ATTENDANTS, DID YOU
INVESTIGATE THE OTHER ITEMS THAT DOUGLAS LATCHFORD HAD BROUGHT TO THIS MUSEUM? >> I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO
THAT QUESTION. I CAN ONLY PICK UP THE STORY SEVERAL YEARS LATER WHEN DOUGLAS LATCHFORD WAS INDICTED IN 2019,
WHEN WE IMMEDIATELY AND PROACTIVELY WENT TO THE U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND OFFERED OUR FULL COOPERATION.
>> WELL, I CAN PICK UP THE STORY ACTUALLY IN 2013 BECAUSE A SPOKESMAN FOR THE MET SAID THAT NO SPECIAL EFFORT WAS GOING TO
BE MADE TO CHECK THE PROVENANCES OF ANY OTHER DOUGLAS LATCHFORD DONATED WORK. WHY WOULDN'T THE MET WANT TO
LOOK INTO EVERYTHING ELSE THAT DOUGLAS LATCHFORD HAD BROUGHT TO THIS MUSEUM? >> I CAN'T SPECULATE ABOUT WHY
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. >> BUT NO ONE INVESTIGATED ALL THE OTHER ITEMS THAT DOUGLAS LATCHFORD GAVE?
>> NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. >> Reporter: THE MET IS NOT THE ONLY MAJOR MUSEUM WITH LOOTED CAMBODIAN ARTIFACTS, BUT ITS
COLLECTION IS ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. LAST YEAR, THE MUSEUM ANNOUNCED IT WOULD CREATE A RESEARCH TEAM
TO EXAMINE THE PROVENANCE, OR ACQUISITION HISTORY, OF ALL ITS COLLECTIONS. >> IT'S TAKEN TEN YEARS SINCE
DOUGLAS LATCHFORD WAS SHOWN TO HAVE GIVEN STOLEN PROPERTY TO THE MET, FOR THE MET TO SET UP THIS PROVENANCE TEAM.
WHY HAS IT TAKEN TEN YEARS? >> IT WAS A SLOW PROCESS. I'LL GRANT YOU THAT. IT WAS A SLOW PROCESS.
BUT I THINK THAT THE FACT THAT WE ARE FULLY ENGAGED NOW, FULLY COOPERATIVE NOW, IS OUR ONLY ANSWER TO THIS REALLY.
IT'S A MOMENT OF RECKONING, AND WE'RE READY TO DO WHAT IT TAKES NOW TO RIGHT WHATEVER THE WRONG IS.
>> FOUR YEARS AGO, WHEN DOUGLAS LATCHFORD WAS INDICTED BY PROSECUTORS, DID YOU SET UP A TEAM TO CHECK THE PROVENANCE OF
EVERY LATCHFORD WORK? >> ABSOLUTELY. WE STARTED TO DIG IN RIGHT THEN AND THERE.
IT'S NOT EASY. I MEAN THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE MUCH INFORMATION HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT IT'S VERY
HARD TO FIND THE INFORMATION. >> BUT THERE'S ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TO CHARGE DOUGLAS
LATCHFORD WITH STEALING AND LOOTING AND TRAFFICKING IN SMUGGLED ITEMS. HOW MUCH MORE EVIDENCE DO YOU
NEED? YOU HAVEN'T RETURNED ANY DOUGLAS LATCHFORD-RELATED ITEMS SINCE HE'S BEEN INDICTED, AND THAT WAS
FOUR YEARS AGO. >> BUT WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF RETURNING A NUMBER OF THEM. >> ALL OF THEM?
>> THAT I CAN'T SAY. >> Reporter: THAT INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE IN SEPTEMBER. TWO DAYS BEFORE WE WENT TO AIR,
PROSECUTORS ANNOUNCED THE MET WOULD RETURN 13 ANTIQUITIES THAT CAME THROUGH DOUGLAS LATCHFORD. BUT THE MET IS NOT RETURNING
THIS STATUE, WHICH WAS SPECIFICALLY CITED IN THE INDICTMENT OF LATCHFORD, OR THIS ONE, WHICH LATCHFORD SOLD TO THE
MET IN 1992. CAMBODIA'S CULTURE MINISTER CALLED THE MET'S ANNOUNCEMENT A FIRST STEP AND SAYS SHE LOOKS
FORWARD TO THE RETURN OF MANY MORE OF OUR TREASURES. >> SHOULDN'T MUSEUMS HAVE THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT BUYING
THINGS THAT WERE COMING OUT OF CAMBODIA DURING THE GENOCIDE AND CIVIL WAR AND DECADES OF STRIFE? >> AND THIS QUESTION THAT YOU
RAISE IS REALLY THE CRUX OF WHAT WE'RE WRESTLING WITH. YOU'VE ACQUIRED PIECES FROM A KNOWN SMUGGLER WHO USED A TEAM
OF LOOTERS THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS INTERVIEWED AND TAKEN STATEMENTS FROM. THEY HAVE EMAILS WHICH REFUTE
THE INFORMATION IN YOUR OWN PROVENANCE AT THE MUSEUM. YOU HAVE ITEMS IN THE MUSEUM WHICH WERE NAMED IN THE
INDICTMENT OF LATCHFORD THAT ARE STILL THERE. AND SO THESE PIECES SHOULD GO BACK.
>> THERE'S NO QUESTION. >> IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. >> Reporter: THIS PAST SEPTEMBER, THE LINDEMANN FAMILY,
WHOSE COLLECTION WAS SHOWCASED IN ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST, STRUCK A DEAL WITH FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, VOLUNTARILY AGREEING TO RETURN
33 STOLEN TREASURES. IN A STATEMENT TO "THE NEW YORK TIMES," THE LINDEMANNS SAID, HAVING PURCHASED THESE ITEMS
FROM DEALERS THAT WE ASSUMED WERE REPUTABLE, WE WERE SADDENED TO LEARN HOW THEY MADE THEIR WAY TO THE MARKET IN THE UNITED
STATES. >> WHY DID THE LINDEMANNS AGREE TO RETURN THEIR COLLECTION TO CAMBODIA?
>> THE PIECES WERE DIRTY. I THINK THEY FINALLY CAME AROUND TO THE FACT THAT LATCHFORD WAS DIRTY, THAT THEIR COLLECTION WAS
ALL LOOTED PIECES. IT WAS OBVIOUS, SO THEY DECIDED TO SURRENDER THEM. >> Reporter: WE GOT A PEEK AT
WHAT WAS THE LINDEMANNS' COLLECTION SHORTLY AFTER THE DEAL WAS DONE. IT WAS SITTING IN A WAREHOUSE IN
UPSTATE NEW YORK, A NATION'S LIVING GODS AND ANCESTORS WAITING FOR A RIDE HOME. >> THIS IS LIKE A WHOLE WING OF
A MUSEUM. >> Reporter: A WING OF A MUSEUM THAT ONLY THE LINDEMANNS AND THEIR FRIENDS HAD ACCESS TO.
>> IF THE LINDEMANNS HADN'T PUBLISHED THESE IN "ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST" BACK IN 2008 --
>> I THINK THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE WE MAYBE NEVER WOULD HAVE FOUND IT. WE ALWAYS SAY THE GODS WANT TO
COME HOME. WE FEEL LIKE THE GODS HAVE SPOKEN TODAY. THEY WANT TO COME HOME.
>> Reporter: AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CRATES WAS BEING OPENED, WAITING EAGERLY WAS MUIKONG TAING AND THYDA LONG, TWO
MEMBERS OF BRAD GORDON'S INVESTIGATIVE TEAM. THIS WOULD BE THEIR FIRST LOOK AT THE MYTHICAL ARMY COMMANDER
TAKEN FROM KOH KER. THEY WERE LIKELY THE FIRST CAMBODIANS TO SET EYES ON IT SINCE DOUGLAS LATCHFORD STOLE IT
MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO. >> HE'S HERE! >> THERE'S A LOOK IN HIS EYES AND ON HIS FACE.
>> IT'S MUCH BIGGER THAN I EXPECTED IT TO BE. >> ITS PRESENCE IS EXTRAORDINARY.
>> I DID NOT EXPECT TO FEEL THIS WAY. >> Reporter: EVEN THE COMMANDER SEEMED TO BE SMILING.
THEN IT WAS TIME TO SEE THE RAREST PIECE IN THE LINDEMANNS' COLLECTION. THE CAMBODIAN TEAM KNELT IN
REVERENCE AS THE HINDU GOD VISHNU WAS UNCRATED. DESPITE ALL THE FUSS, HE APPEARED UNPERTURBED, RECLINING
IN A COSMIC SLUMBER. WHEN THIS STATUE ARRIVES IN CAMBODIA, IT WILL BE WELCOMED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVER
RETURNED. TWO CAMBODIAN ARTIFACTS DONATED BY THE LINDEMANN FAMILY TO THE MET ARE STILL ON DISPLAY.
THIS MONTH, THE CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT SUBMITTED A LIST OF 49 ANTIQUITIES HELD BY THE MET THEY CLAIM ARE STOLEN AND WANT