CAIRO, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadiq ordered on Tuesday the arrest of former Italian honorary consul in Luxor over charges of smuggling 21,855 pieces of antiquities dating back to different historical eras.
Sadiq also ordered putting the consul Ladislav Otakar Skakal on the international fugitive list, his office said in a statement.
Other Egyptian defendants were sent to jail pending further investigations on the case, the statement said.
"Investigations revealed that Skakal along with Egyptian defendants, including the brother of a former minister, are involved in smuggling ancient Egyptian antiquities in diplomatic bags," it added.
Several pieces of antiquities were found in the Italian diplomat's house in Egypt in addition to other pieces in one of Cairo's private banks, according to the statement.
It added Egypt has made contacts with the Italian judicial bodies to bring back the stolen antiquities.
The smuggled pieces were restored back at Cairo Airport on July 30, 2018.
The pieces have been seized in the Italian city of Salerno.
