Egypt’s navy on Sunday thwarted an attempt to smuggle 43 pieces of coral reefs on board a British yacht while it was crossing the Suez Canal.
The naval forces had received information about a British boat bound for Turkey, which carried six British and two Turkish sailors, along with a huge load of coral reefs from Egypt’s Red Sea.
The boat was immediately driven to Port Said’s seaport. Environmental and customs authorities were informed of the incident.
During interrogations, the yacht’s crew admitted receiving the pieces of coral as a present from an Egyptian man, adding that they were neither aware of their value, nor knew they were subject to custom fees.
Customs authorities commissioned a panel to assess the value of the cargo and estimate its custom fees, which may stand at US$30 million.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
