The plane, which departed from Cairo, landed at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport near Lusaka on Monday evening. In the aircraft were found 5.7 million US dollars, five guns, seven magazines, 126 rounds of ammunition, as well as, judging by the appearance, 602 pieces of gold weighing 127.2 kilograms, and gold measuring equipment. Authorities later concluded that the bars were not pure gold.
Zambia’s Anti-Narcotics Commission announced that ten people, including six Egyptians, a Spanish national, a Dutch national, a Zambian national and a Latvian national, were arrested for possession of dangerous substances.
Four more Zambian nationals have been detained in the course of further investigations and the number of those detained is expected to rise.
Money outflow from Egypt has become a serious problem as many wealthy individuals seek to move money out of Egypt and keep their assets out of sight of the authorities. Egyptian media assume that the plane is connected to such an attempt to take money out of Egypt.
Egyptian parliament member Samira el Gazara called on the government to open an investigation and explain the incident to the public. The story of the plane being intercepted in Zambia has become the most widely shared on social media in Egypt, but local authorities have banned its publication in local media, and the state-owned Middle East News Agency has denied any government involvement in the plane.
There are photos on social media of Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik in front of this plane during his visit to Tunisia.
2023-08-20 11:37:32
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