The illicit trade in cultural heritage belongs in the category of major illegal transnational trade alongside drug and firearms trafficking. Cultural heritage theft and trafficking continues to be an issue in Africa, and Ethiopia’s cultural objects continue to be looted both during peacetime and armed conflict. Accordingly, this study examines the adequacy of Ethiopia’s cultural heritage laws and institutions to prevent illicit cultural heritage trafficking within the context of the transnational and organized crime (TOC) framework. The central goal of this dissertation is to analyze the best way to address legal gaps related to the criminalization of and mutual cooperation against illicit cultural heritage trafficking and to assess possibilities of addressing the institutional challenges related to the detection and investigation of crimes of cultural heritage trafficking in Ethiopia. It employs the socio-legal qualitative research methodology. The research is principally conducted through doctrinal analysis of primary data sources including legislation, case laws, and international treaties. Also, it uses secondary sources including journal articles, books, and commentaries. It is supplemented by empirical data that is collected from primary sources through key informant interviews and personal observation. The empirical data is complemented by published and unpublished documents. The study reveals that administrative regulations are the principal method of preventing cultural heritage trafficking in Ethiopia and the related illicit acts are typically criminalized and investigated as ordinary and domestic crimes, thereby disregarding their transnational and organized character. This inadequacy has led to several stolen cultural objects remaining untraced and suspects are left without being criminally investigated and prosecuted. The study provides useful insights to legal actors that are responsible for the control of cultural heritage crimes. It also adds to the academic literature on Ethiopia’s law related to the control of artifacts trafficking. The researcher argues that to proactively and effectively prevent cultural heritage trafficking, Ethiopia should do two things. First, it should legislate new cultural heritage criminal laws and enforce them within the TOC framework. And second, it should establish a special cultural heritage policing unit to deal with cultural artifacts theft and trafficking