On Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Egyptian authority announced that they recently arrested three people for an attempted robbery of the ancient statue of the pharaoh Ramses II using a crane.
King Ramses II was the most famed pharaoh in the 19th dynasty, who ruled Egypt for sixty-seven years. He was known to be a great warrior and prolific builder who ordered the construction of temples across Egypt.
In an official statement, the police reported the detainment of the three criminals after being found in possession of manual digging tools and heavy equipment. According to the police report, they were trying to lift the 10-tonne statue with the crane and dig out other antiques in the area.
The statement also mentioned the Antiquities Authority in Aswan has proven the antiquity of the statue and attributed it to Ramses II, with a weight of approximately 10 tons.
The public prosecutor’s office issued an order to hold the three defendants in custody for four days pending investigations after their official accusation of attempting to steal a pharaonic statue from the ancient southern city of Aswan, 675 kilometers south of Cairo on the Nile.
Additionally, they urged the police officers in charge of the case to quickly investigate everyone involved with the suspects in the crime.
It is worth noting that Egypt has recovered nearly 29,000 antiquities from several countries abroad, taken through illegitimate means.
