Turkish security forces seized a 2,000 - 2,500 -year-old Torah with golden inscription in northern Samsun province on Friday (March 26).
Acting on a tip, police squads stopped two suspected car and found the manuscript, said the sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Police can be seen rifling through backpacks in the trunk of the suspects' car in a video of the incident. The ancient artifact was simply wrapped in a plastic bag wedged in the pockets of a nearly otherwise empty cloth bag.
Police can then be seen removing the golden Torah from the plastic bag with gloved hands, before removing it from ancient protective casing. Pages in which ancient inscriptions are written are shown.
Five people were arrested, the source added.The incident comes shortly after similarly dated biblical scrolls were previously thought to be, were verified