The Orleans Parish Sheriff's office initially said 11 prisoners had escaped from the facility, but the number was revised down later on Friday.
There are also artefacts from Yazd, a city in central Iran which was once a barren desert and the place where many Zoroastrians settled after fleeing other regions of Iran after the Arab invasion in 7th Century BCE.One of the notable artefacts on display is a replica of a clay cylinder of Cyrus the Great, a Persian king who was the founder of the Achaemenid empire.
Fatakia says the clay cylinder - also known as the "Edict of Cyrus" or the "Cyrus Cylinder" - is one of the most important discoveries of the ancient world. Inscribed in cuneiform script, it outlines the rights granted by Cyrus to his subjects in Babylon. Widely seen as the first human rights charter, a replica is also displayed at the United Nations.Then there are maps that trace the migration routes of thousands of Iranian Zoroastrians who fled their home country fearing persecution and travelled to India in the 8th to10th centuries, and again in the 19th century.The collection also features furniture, manuscripts, paintings, and portraits of prominent Parsis - among them Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the iconic Tata Group, which owns brands like Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley tea.
Another striking section showcases artefacts collected by Parsis who grew wealthy in the early 19th century trading tea, silk, cotton - and notably, opium - with China. The exhibits include traditional Parsi sarees influenced by designs from China, France, and other regions shaped by these global trade ties.Two of the museum's most compelling exhibits are replicas of a Tower of Silence and a Parsi fire temple.
The Tower of Silence, or dakhma, is where Parsis leave their dead to be returned to nature - neither buried nor cremated. "The replica shows exactly what happens to the body once it's placed there," says Fatakia, noting that entry to actual towers is restricted to a select few.
The life-size replica of the fire temple is equally fascinating, offering a rare glimpse into a sacred space typically off-limits to non-Parsis. Modelled on a prominent Mumbai temple, it features sacred motifs inspired by ancient Persian architecture in Iran.Det Sgt Chris Acourt, who led the Cambridgeshire Police investigation, said there were “massive opportunities” that were missed to detect the slavery and alert authorities sooner.
“Ultimately, we could have been in a situation to end that exploitation much earlier had we been made aware,” he said.Like many of the victims, Pavel - who has waived his legal right to anonymity - was homeless in the Czech Republic when he was approached by the gang in 2016.
He says he was lured in with the false promise of a well-paid job in the UK, where he could at the time work legally.But the reality of what he experienced has left lasting scars, he said.