Former doctor sentenced to six months for illegally smuggling hundreds of Egyptian artifacts into the United States.

An Egyptian doctor, Ashraf Omar Eldarir, has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for his involvement in the smuggling of hundreds of ancient artifacts into the United States. The ruling was issued by a judge in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Eldarir, 52, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Brooklyn, was apprehended at John F. Kennedy Airport on January 22, 2020. He was found with three suitcases containing a total of 590 undeclared cultural items that had been meticulously packaged to evade detection. Some of these items were so recently excavated that loose sand and dirt was found spilling from the bags.

Federal authorities have established that Eldarir had been orchestrating an antiquities smuggling operation for several years, fabricating narratives about the origins of these artifacts. He misled auction houses by claiming that the items were part of his grandfather’s collection, a grouping supposedly gathered prior to the 1970 UNESCO treaty, which prohibits the unauthorized importation of cultural items. The artifacts seized from Eldarir at JFK Airport, noted as the largest confiscation of its kind, included gold amulets from funerary sets, a relief depicting the cartouche of a Ptolemaic king, and wooden tomb model figures, all dated to approximately 1900 BCE. Collectively, the items were appraised at around ,000.

In addition to the large cache at JFK, Eldarir faced charges relating to other specific artifacts smuggled in previous years. These included an ancient Egyptian polychrome artifact that sustained damage during transit, requiring restoration, as well as an ancient Roman limestone stele and a limestone head. Investigators uncovered communications revealing that Eldarir had been in contact with individuals in Egypt who frequented illicit dig sites, possibly including looters and grave robbers.

Eldarir’s alleged smuggling activities extended back to 2011, as indicated by auction house records and digital communications. Federal prosecutors noted that Eldarir chose to engage in this illegal trade instead of practicing medicine, a viable profession he possessed as a trained and licensed physician in Egypt. His actions, they stated, had not only profited him financially but also contributed to the degradation of Egypt’s cultural heritage.

In February, Eldarir entered a guilty plea to four counts of smuggling, coinciding with the start of jury selection for his trial. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella emphasized the gravity of Eldarir’s offenses, underscoring that he had exploited the looting of Egypt’s cultural treasures for personal gain while lying to U.S. Customs. This case highlights the ongoing battle against the trafficking of cultural properties and underscores the importance of preserving global heritage.