Egypt relic smugglers jailed

A gang who smuggled ancient Egyptian artefacts worth about US$55 million ($78.9 million) out of Egypt have been sentenced to between 15 and 55 years in prison.

Some of the antiquities were seized at Cairo airport, but many of the more than 57,000 articles were smuggled out. Some have been returned, including artefacts sent back last month from Australia, where they were for sale on the internet.

Three men who were in custody received between 15 and 42 years in jail from a Cairo court. Four others were tried in absentia and sentenced to between 15 and 55 years in prison.

Judicial sources said some of the men had financed illegal excavations at some of Egypt's best-known archaeological sites - Saqqara, Tell el-Amarna, Dahshour and Tel Basta.