More than 4,000 looted cultural artifacts, thousands of years old, will be returned to their rightful home -- Mexico.

The items were seized in 11 separate investigations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

"This all started through information from a good samaritan that called with information saying they had these goods that were being sold in the United States," said Dennis Ulrich, HSI special agent in charge.

That tip led ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and DPS officials to Antonio Reyes in Alpine, Texas.

Ulrich said, "The trooper then identified those artifacts, told HSI, we then took Mr. Reyes into custody for interrogation purposes. In interviewing him, he then gave us those admissions."

But all 4,000 artifacts, some dating back more than 1,500 years, weren't just found in Antonio Reyes' car that day. In fact, these items were recovered in 11 separate investigations, in multiple states, spanning from Montana to California. Today, those pieces are headed home.

"This event is a clear accomplishment achieved through effective cooperation between Mexico and the United States," said Dr. Pedro President of the Mexican Consejo de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Dr. Pedro Francisco Sánchez.

Since 2007, HSI has recovered and redistributed over thousands of pieces of cultural property to more than 24 countries. HSI says the theft of cultural goods is one of the oldest forms of cross-border crime.

"It just shows they'll do anything they have to do to fund their illegal activity. These goods here, they put a dollar figure on them. But to the country of Mexico, they're priceless," said Ulrich.

"Today, these pieces go back to Mexico. These are examples of the rich cultural heritage that fills us with happiness and characterizes our society," said Sanchez.