HARI SREENIVASAN:

This week, the United States returned hundreds of ancient artifacts to Thailand that officials say were looted decades ago from a 5,000 year old UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site.

The collection of bronze items, pottery, stone tools, beads, and sandstone molds was returned Wednesday, during a ceremony at Thailand's National Museum in Bangkok.

The artifacts were found in 2008, during a raid on the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, after a five-year undercover federal investigation. The museum agreed to return the items in exchange for amnesty for its staff.

But when US Chargé d'Affaires, W. Patrick Murphy, handed over the artifacts to Thailand, he assured reporters that the people allegedly involved antiquity smuggling will face criminal charges.