ANCIENT OFFENDERS

Group Busted Trying to Steal 22,000-Pound Pharaoh Statue in Egypt

Three people brought a crane and digging equipment to excavate the thousand-year-old statue, prosecutors said.

Egyptian authorities have arrested three people who they allegedly caught trying to steal a historic statue of Pharaoh Ramses II. The group planned to lift the 10-ton statue, equivalent to 22,000 pounds, out of the ground, along with other ancient antiques, Egypt’s Public Prosecution announced on Facebook on Tuesday, adding that the group was busted in a quarry with a crane and other digging equipment. They had also texted each other pictures of antiques and videos of digging leading up to the crime, according to investigators. Antiquity theft has been an ongoing issue for Egypt, with the country recovering almost 30,000 stolen items in the last decade, according to Al Jazeera.