Hurghada Court on Sunday decided to imprison three British citizens charged with smuggling weapons for 15 days pending investigations.
The defense lawyers, meanwhile, called for their release on bail.
Hurghada security arrested the three men, who allegedly had ammunition magazines, laser-guided sniper rifles, radios, bullet-proof vests, helmets and spare parts for automatic weapons hidden in their yacht, two days ago. The weapons, whose estimated value is LE2 million, were found hidden inside a yacht that raised the Panamanian flag.
They were coming from Jeddah and headed for Suez Port.
The Hurghada prosecution requested a copy of the investigations report by the National Security Agency and asked for a number of professional divers to check the bottom of the yacht and to search the route taken by it for secret caches of weapons.
The prosecution summoned the head of the explosives unit at the port for testimony.
According to investigators, the defendants corresponded with Hurghada’s tourist marina and enquired closely about the costs and security procedures that they would have to go through.
Since the beginning of the January 2011 revolution, Egyptian authorities have seized weapons inside and at entrance points around the country. Weapons were also stolen from police departments after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
