Kingdom hands over stolen artifacts to Egyptian owners
Published: Feb 21, 2010 23:07 Updated: Feb 23, 2010 13:42
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has handed over three valuable artifacts that were intercepted at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh to their rightful owners in Egypt.
The artifacts, which were being smuggled in a silver Qur’an cover, were given to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) delegation at the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities’ (SCTA) headquarters.
Customs official suspected the silver Qur’an box had a compartment where the antiquities were being hidden.
After stopping the smuggler, who has not been identified, they discovered the valuable items, which included an antique coin dating back to the Greek Empire era as well as a marble tool for crushing cosmetic ingredients and spire head, both from the Pharaonic era.
According to SCTA’s legal consultant Ali Al-Gabban, the commission is committed to returning all antiquities to their home countries and vice versa. Saudi Arabia is governed by UNESCO’s Convention of Protection of Cultural Property.
Meanwhile, legal consultant to the SCTA Ashraf Al-Ashmawi, who is also head of the delegation in Riyadh, said a number of potential antiquities presented to the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah actually had no historical value.
He said a Saudi woman had bought the 21 pieces from an Egyptian dealer in the Kingdom.
He expressed his gratitude to the SCTA for their cooperation, while also thanking the Saudi woman for highlighting the importance of combating illegal smuggling.
He denied rumors up to 20,000 smuggling cases have been discovered in Egypt. He said the numbers were exaggerated and that there were stringent measures in place to crack down on smugglers. Punishments for smuggling in Egypt can include 15 years imprisonment or a fine of one million Egyptian pounds.
Egypt recently retrieved 619 artifacts from London, four years after obtaining them from British authorities.
