Egypt sends former MP to prison for antiquities smuggling

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has sentenced a former member of parliament and others to ten years in prison for smuggling antiquities out of the country. Egypt has drastically stepped up efforts in recent years to stop the trafficking of its antiquities, which flourished in the turmoil following a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak. Often the suspects have been high-profile figures. Egypt’s state news agency did not specify what kind of antiquities were being smuggled — but it said that in some cases the convicted had organized and funded secret excavations.