Gendarmerie squads seized a python skin with ancient Egyptian-era Hebrew inscriptions in Türkiye's central Karaman province on Tuesday.

The gendarmerie units carried out an operation targeting artifact smugglers in the city center, upon receiving a tipoff that suspect, identified with the initials M.E. would bring artifacts from Şanlıurfa province by car, Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported.

Gendarmerie units stopped the car and discovered, a 4-meter-long python skin with Hebrew inscriptions with talismans, thought to be from the ancient Egyptian period.

The suspect was detained and an investigation was launched about the incident.

The seizures of ancient books in Hebrew and Torahs have been commonplace in Türkiye in recent years. Two rare, gold-plated Torahs were seized in the western city of Bilecik in 2018 in another anti-smuggling operation.