Brother of ex-Minister Boutros Ghali accomplice in artifact smuggling

CAIRO - 20 October 2019: The prosecution has referred brother of Mubarak-era Finance Minister Boutros Ghali and other defendants to the Criminal Court in the notorious case of smuggling thousands of artifacts to Italy.

On Saturday, the prosecution also demanded the rapid arrest of Italy’s former honorary consul in Luxor Ladislav Otakar Skakal and enlisting him at the Interpol and the black lists of airports due to his involvement in the crime.

A total of 21,855 artifacts from various historical periods were seized in a diplomatic container from Alexandria to the Italian port of Salerno in 2018.

Investigation that lasted a year revealed the network of smugglers behind the attempt and the role of each one, prosecutors said.