Egypt foils plot to steal 10-tonne pharaonic statue

The suspects are accused of trying to steal a statue of Ramses II from the traditional southern metropolis of Aswan.

A part of a quarry the place stones have been transported from a 3,000-year-old port for use within the constructing of temples and obelisk, in Gebel el-Silsila, Aswan, Egypt [File: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP]

Egyptian authorities have arrested three folks for attempting to steal a millennia-old 10-tonne statue of Pharaoh Ramses II.

The defendants have been caught in a quarry south of town of Aswan with guide digging gear and a crane, Egypt’s Public Prosecution introduced on Fb on Tuesday.

They're suspected of planning to carry the colossus out of the bottom and to “excavate antiquities within the space”, the prosecutor’s workplace stated, including that it had “ordered three defendants be held in custody for 4 days pending investigations” and requested the police to “shortly examine others who have been concerned … within the crime”.

The Antiquities Authority in Aswan has confirmed the “antiquity [of the statue] and attributed it to Ramses II, with a weight of roughly 10 tonnes”, the assertion added.

An investigation of the suspects’ cellphones revealed that that they had despatched video clips of digging operations and of what look like historical statues by way of social messaging apps.

Ramses II, probably the most well-known pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty, dominated for 67 years. He was referred to as a terrific warrior and prolific builder who ordered the development of temples throughout Egypt.

Egypt has misplaced numerous antiquities to looters, each people and international governments that colonised Egypt previously.

Over the previous decade, the nation has recovered about 29,000 antiquities discovered to have been taken overseas by way of illegitimate means.