China claims artifacts FBI seized from Indiana home

For the first time, the FBI is speaking out about seizing artifacts from a vast collection gathered by an Indiana man, Don Miller, in 2014. These photos – never before shown publicly – give a glimpse of the collection of some 42,000 items. 

Artifacts returning to China

A lot of the artifacts had been illegally obtained. Miller admitted he'd gone on digging expeditions in foreign countries and around the United States for decades in violation of antiquities laws.

Artifacts returning to China

So far, the FBI has already returned items from Miller's collection to several countries, including Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico. A Chinese delegation will go to Indianapolis this week to claim some of these artifacts.

Artifacts returning to China

"When I first went into his house and saw the size of the collection, it was unlike anything we'd ever seen," said Tim Carpenter, who heads the FBI's art crime unit. "Not only me, but I don't think anybody on the art crime team." 

Artifacts returning to China

Of the 42,000 artifacts, Carpenter said, "Roughly half of the collection was Native American, and the other half of the collection was from every corner of the globe."

Artifacts returning to China

"Did he understand that he had obtained some things illegally?" CBS News correspondent Anna Werner asked.

"He did," Carpenter said, adding that Miller admitted to it.

Artifacts returning to China

Miller eventually agreed to let the FBI seize some 5,000 artifacts so they could be returned to their countries of origin. 

Artifacts returning to China

But Carpenter said all the FBI's careful planning couldn't prepare them for another, more disturbing discovery: 2,000 human bones. Watch CBS News correspondent Anna Werner's full report.