CAIRO: An attempt to smuggle five antique coins was foiled by the authorities at Cairo International Airport Sunday.
The coins, dating back to the Mohamed Ali Dynasty (1805-1952), were seized with an Italian passenger heading to London, Cairo airport security director Major general Ayman Abdel Fatah told media.
Officials at the archaeological unit at the airport inspected the objects and approved their authenticity, Abdel Fatah said.
The antique coins have been confiscated to be delivered to the Ministry of Antiquities, in accordance with the provisions of 1973 Antiquities Protection Law 117, head of the Archaeological Unit for Confiscated Antiquities (AUCA) Ahmed Rawy told The Cairo Post Sunday.
The seized coins constitute two milliemes dating back to the reign of Sultan Hussein Kamel, who ruled from 1914 to 1917, along with two dimes and one millieme minted with King Farouk’s portraits, Rawy said.
The passenger has been arrested and the objects confiscated to be taken to the Egyptian Museum to ascertain where they came from, he added.
Since the outbreak of January 25 Revolution in 2011 and its consequent security lapse across Egypt, the Tourism and Antiquities Police, in coordination with Cairo airport’s authorities, thwarted several attempts to smuggle ancient Egyptian antiquities.
“This is not the first attempt to smuggle ancient Egyptian artifacts and it will not be the last,” Rawy said, adding that due to strict security measures at the 40 archaeological units at Egyptian ports of entry, “it is no longer possible to smuggle any of Egypt’s archaeological heritage out of the country.”
