Egyptian police find fake tomb, issue arrest warrant against suspects
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The tomb was created to defraud would-be antiquities traffickers.
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The drawings engraved on the walls of the three rooms and the statues they contain are all modern imitations and non-archaeological
Official authorities in Beni Suef discovered a fake tomb that was created for the purpose of tricking people who have an interest in archaeology and artifacts to commit fraudulent actions.
Ancient pictures were drawn on the walls of an underground room by the criminals who wanted to find a smart way to defraud would-be antiquities traffickers.
The tomb included a sarcophagus, handmade statues, and gold-plated bars made of gypsum.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which examined the site, formed a committee that determined the statues and inscriptions on the walls were not antiquities but were only recently created, Egypt’s Public Prosecution said.
“The drawings engraved on the walls of the three rooms and the statues they contain are all modern imitations and non-archaeological, so the Public Prosecution requested investigations by the Antiquities Investigation Department about the incident,” the prosecution said.
The Committee of Antiquities, led by Dr. Omar Zaki, confirmed that most of the pieces found inside the tomb were bought and stated that the inscriptions on the wall have no connection to ancient Egyptian civilization.
On Friday, the prosecution issued an arrest warrant against a group of suspects, who fled the scene after being questioned by the police on Wednesday.
Read: Egypt unearths 250 mummies in ancient necropolis
Security personnel were searching for the suspects and found a group of pharaonic statues next to a hole closed by an iron door and locks.
The police found that the hole leads to a two-meter- deep shaft containing three rooms that resemble a tomb containing statues of pharaonic figures.
After investigations concluded that the suspects, who have been identified, created the tomb to find people interested and seize their money, the prosecution issued the warrant. Further investigations are underway.
Read: Egypt unveils ancient 'secret keeper' tomb, golden mummy
