Part of smuggled artifacts restored from France. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)
CAIRO, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian authorities said on Thursday that the country has recovered nine illegally smuggled artifacts from France.
French authorities seized these artifacts at a train in Paris that was heading to England in 2012, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The cultural relics were handed to the Egyptian embassy in Paris in 2017 after a final ruling by a French judge on the smuggling case in 2016.
According to another statement by the Ministry of Antiquities, the artifacts are parts of five coffins, two statues of cats, a human head made of basalt, and a pharaonic mask made of wood.
The nine artifacts will be stored in the Egyptian Museum until they are fit for display after restoration work, the ministry said.
During constant cooperation between France and Egypt on preventing antiquities trafficking, France agreed to return 239 pieces to Egypt in November 2014.