A 25kg meteor – the largest rock from Mars ever found on Earth – caught more than US $ 5 million (£ 3.71 million) at auction in New York in July, setting a world record world record

Sotheby’s auction house said the rock, named NWA 16788, was launched by Mars from the impact of a huge asteroid, traveling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth.

It was discovered in Sahara, in northwestern Niger, by an anonymous meteor hunter in November 2023. However, the auction house did not reveal the identities of either the hunter or the buyer.

Now, according to the Independent, this space red, a rusty rock is a research on Niger.

Authorities are investigating what they call possible “illegal international trafficking”, suggesting that the meteor could have been smuggled out of the country.

According to the Heritage academic magazine, the rock was sold to an international trader before reaching a private gallery in Italy. Indeed, a team of scientists from the University of Florence examined Meteorite in 2024 to find out more about its structure and to confirm its origin before falling to Earth, while the meteorite was briefly exposed to Rome, before publicly re -introduced to New York.

Last week, Niger President Abdourahamane Tiani suspended the export of “gemstones, semiprecious stones and meteors at national level” in an effort to ensure their traceability.

Sotheby’s said in a statement that the meteorite was exported by Niger and was transferred according to all relevant international procedures.

“As is the case with everything we sell, all the necessary documents were in order at every stage of his journey, according to best practices and demands of the countries involved,” the statement said.