Egypt says it retrieved 4 stolen artefacts from Britain

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced yesterday that it has received four artefacts that had been stolen and smuggled out of Egypt.

The restored artifacts have now been placed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the ministry added in a statement.

Shaaban Abdel Gawad, a ministry official, said two of the artefacts were displayed in an auction house in the UK while the other two pieces were in the possession of an antiquities dealer in London.

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Two of the artefacts were stolen during the security mayhem that prevailed in the wake of the 2011 uprising, which resulted in the ousting of long-time president Hosni Mubarak, while the other two were stolen in 2013, according to the ministry.

In 2011, Egypt witnessed a period of security chaos during which the rate of antiquity thefts increased by 90 per cent compared to the pre-2011 rate, according to previous statements made by Egyptian officials.