Egypt claims stolen treasures

2005-11-17 15:44

Cairo - Egypt is to recover from the United States, Canada and Germany more than 100 stolen antiquities that had been smuggled out by a massive trafficking ring, said reports.

Antiquities chief Zahi Hawwas said some of the antiquities were located after Egypt's largest trafficking trial in August, which led to heavy prison sentences for seven people.

He said members of his Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) had found some of the missing pieces on the websites of several auctioneers across the world.

Hawwas explained that the pieces to be recovered from Germany had been seized by police as they were being sold to a buyer in the US.

Egyptian antiquities dealers

He said some stolen pharaonic antiquities were intercepted upon arrival in the US at a San Francisco airport, while others were seized from an auction room in Canada.

Hawwas didn't elaborate on the nature of the stolen pieces nor did he specify when they would be returned.

He explained that the pieces to be recovered were smuggled out through a major trafficking operation masterminded by two Egyptian antiquities dealers.

Mohammed al-Shaer was sentenced to 55 years in jail for trafficking antiquities, corruption and encouraging SCA officials to forge documents.

A relative, Faruq al-Shaer, was sentenced to 42 years for illegal possession and trafficking of antiquities.

- AFP