A tomb raider has been sentenced to prison after trying to flee Egypt with a bag full of stolen ancient treasures. Ashraf Omar Eldarir has been slapped with a six-month federal prison sentence after trying to reach the U.S. with around 600 rare artifacts, some of which still bore traces of sand and dirt and appeared to have been recently excavated. The 52-year-old was stopped at JFK Airport in New York in 2020 with three checked suitcases, he claimed, containing around $300 worth of treasure, despite the luggage being comprised of gold amulets and artifacts that dated back to 1900 BCE, per the Department of Justice. “The defendant looted Egypt’s cultural treasures and lied to US Customs about them as part of a web of deception he spun to illegally fill his pockets with cash,” US Attorney Joseph Nocella said as he announced the sentence Wednesday, following Eldarir’s guilty plea to four counts of smuggling in February. “Those who steal cultural treasures of other countries and smuggle them into the United States should know that they will be held accountable for their crimes.” The Egypt-born, U.S. citizen is understood to have faked documents to make the items appear not to have been stolen, and therefore able to be sold at American auctions.
Read it at Department of Justice
