3 people arrested for selling pieces of the pyramids
Three people were arrested for allegedly selling pieces of the Giza Pyramids to the public, the Interior Ministry said in an official statement on Saturday.
The three, who all confessed according to police, are from Haram district, which is close to the pyramids. The suspects alleged two people approached them wanting to purchase pieces of the pyramids, so they sold them a piece for LE250.
Dot Masr news website filmed the illegal sale in a video titled, “We heard they’re selling Pyramids, so we went to buy two stones,” which went viral on social media. The news website said they filmed with the purpose of notifying the authorities of the violation.
Head of the Antiquities Ministry, Mahmoud Afify, slammed Dot Masr’s video in press remarks, deeming it an attempt to incite people to illegally acquire antiquities. Questioning the website’s credibility, Afify said it would be hard to sell parts of the pyramids, as they’re difficult to break. However, he suggested the stones surrounding the pyramids may have been sold.
The video harms Egypt’s image abroad, as well as tourism, Afify asserted, filing an official complaint with the Interior Ministry against the website, and asserting, “If it was a credible website, they would have submitted the video to the authorities.”
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