Overview
- Egypt’s Interior Ministry said four suspects were detained, including a Cairo Egyptian Museum restorer accused of taking the bracelet from the restoration lab’s iron safe.
- Investigators allege the theft occurred on September 9, with the disappearance reported on September 13 by a museum agent and a restorer after an inventory check.
- Authorities described a resale chain through a trader and a gold workshop owner in the Sayeda Zeinab district, ending with a gold smelter who allegedly melted the bracelet.
- Police reported sale proceeds of 374,000 Egyptian pounds (about $7,755) across the transactions, said the suspects confessed during questioning, and seized the money while opening legal proceedings.
- The gold-and-lapis-lazuli bracelet is attributed to Pharaoh Amenemope and had been prepared for the Rome exhibition “Tesoros de los Faraones,” as Egypt’s museums face heightened scrutiny ahead of the November 1 Grand Egyptian Museum opening.