After an attempt was made to steal a 10-ton ancient statue of Pharaoh Ramses II, Egyptian authorities arrested three individuals.
On Tuesday, Egypt’s Public Prosecution reported via Facebook that the defendants were apprehended in a quarry south of Aswan.
They had manual digging tools and a crane and are suspected of having plans to “excavate antiquities in the area”.
The three defendants are being held in custody for “four days pending investigations”.
After an analysis of the suspects’ mobile phones, it was revealed they had circulated video clips that showed digging activities and what seemed to be ancient relics.
Ramses II of the 19th dynasty had a reign that spanned 67 years. He was a renowned warrior and ordered the construction of many temples across Egypt.
Due to thievery from both individual looters and colonial foreign powers, Egypt has lost an untold number of antiquities.
They have recovered over 29,000 antiquities taken abroad illegally in just the past decade.
