Airport officials at Cairo International Airport discovered a traveler trying to illegally transport Egyptian mummy remains.
The airport’s X-ray scanners detected a package concealed inside a pair of stereo speakers. After opening the bag and searching through the speakers, they found the mummified remains of an arm, part of a left hand, two legs, two feet and a portion of a torso.
The traveler was on his way to Belgium with the remains. Once discovered by airport officials, they confiscated the body parts. An archeologist examined the remains and confirmed they were from ancient mummies.
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities sent the mummy remains to the Museum of Antiquities for restoration.
Trafficking Egyptian antiquities is strictly forbidden, and the removal of such objects carries a fine and prison sentence of up to two years. The Egyptian Law on the Protection of Antiquities takes this crime so seriously that they have a special archeological unit at the Cairo airport to prevent any historical or archeological remains from leaving the country without permission.
While the traveler’s name has not been released, we imagine that he is in a lot of trouble.
