CAIRO, Egypt — An Australian teacher who allegedly stuffed his luggage with 2,000-year old animal mummies and religious figurines wrapped as gifts was arrested Wednesday and charged with smuggling antiquities, an Egyptian airport security official said.
The teacher, 61, was heading to Thailand when an official became suspicious of the wrapped figurines that were placed amid souvenir pots in his suitcase.
When officials opened the case, they found two mummies of a cat and an ibis, a long-beaked bird, both dating back to 300 B.C. The confiscated collection also included 19 figurines of the revered ancient Egyptian gods of Horus and Thoth.
Horus is a falcon-headed god, who represented the greatest cosmic powers for ancient Egyptians. Thoth is believed to have given the Egyptians the gift of hieroglyphic writing.
The man was arrested and has been charged with smuggling antiquities, which can carry a penalty of as much as 15 years.
An airport official described the bust as rare because of the number of items involved and the age of the items.
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