The Man Who Stole the Gods

From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the gilded halls of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, a tale of stolen treasures, and the battle to reclaim a nation’s soul.

Amidst the chaos of Cambodia's brutal genocide, a new crime wave emerged - one that would sweep across borders and entangle the world's most prestigious art institutions. Priceless treasures of the ancient Khmer Empire, the civilization that produced Angkor Wat, vanished from sacred temples, looted by smugglers and trafficked into the hands of elite collectors. At the center of it all was a man named Douglas Latchford.

Known later as 'Dynamite Doug' for the ruthless methods used to extract statues from temple ruins, Latchford orchestrated one of history's most audacious cultural heists. From dusty Cambodian villages to the glittering auction houses of London and New York and institutions like the Met, he played a double game - posing as an expert on Khmer art while secretly flooding the market with stolen antiquities.