The Italian police tracked and detained a 24-year-old German tourist after catching him transporting an ancient Roman artifact on a rented electric scooter.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening on the famous Via Veneto in Rome, near the US embassy, where the man was seen moving with a marble column base weighing about 30 kilograms positioned between his legs, writes CNN.
Archaeologists in Rome described the artifact as "of historical interest," and experts are still investigating where it was stolen from.
The tourist reportedly told the police that he took the artifact as a "souvenir," but it is not clear if he paid someone for it.
Although he has not been charged yet, the man is being investigated for "receiving stolen cultural goods."
The inappropriate behavior of tourists is a constant problem for Italian authorities, who in recent years have intervened in various cases: tourists riding electric scooters or Maseratis on the famous Spanish Steps, carving their initials on the walls of the Colosseum, or driving mopeds into the ruins of Pompeii.
In February, a tourist from New Zealand was fined for jumping into the Trevi Fountain, and this month an American tourist underwent emergency surgery after injuring himself trying to climb a gate around the Colosseum.