Gang arrested for excavating Ancient Egyptian tomb, attempting to smuggle sarcophagus

CAIRO – 2 December 2021: A gang consisting of eight individuals has been arrested Thursday for excavating an Ancient Egyptian tomb in Cairo's Heliopolis neighborhood, and attempting to sell a sarcophagus they found in the archeological site.  

Granite sarcophagus found an illegally excavated archeological site in Cairo's Heliopolis neighborhood in December 2021. Press Photo

The tomb was lying beneath an inhabited building spanning over 240 square meters so the defendants dug a three-meter-deep hole finding the three-meter-long granite sarcophagus, which they were trying to smuggle from Egypt.  

The police confiscated the digging tools found at the excavated site, and determined that six of the men arrested have a criminal record. When interrogated, all members of the gang confessed to committing the crime.