Security forces on 8 June discovered five statuettes and eight ancient coins at a farmer’s house in the village of Nazlet Shadi.
The discovery came during a wide scale police campaign led by Mamdouh Meqled, head of Minya's security department, to reign in warring families.
Police were trying to subdue renewed conflict between the Nazlet Shadi and al-Azhary families when the artifacts were found at the house of Ali Hassan Mahmoud, 32. Mahmoud was previously convicted for arms dealing and land seizure.
The confiscated items included a 60-cm basalt statuette placed on a base inscribed with hieroglyphs, a 120-centimeter stone statuette, another 50-centimeter piece representing a man in a seated position and one representing King Ramses, which is 55-centimeters tall, in addition to eight metal coins.
Antiquity thefts have thrived during Egypt's unrest, as looters have sought to take advantage of reduced police presence.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
