Police in Egypt say they have foiled an attempt to smuggle antiquities worth more than thirty million dollars.

The police said a former senior officer was arrested at Al-Nuzha airport in Alexandria as he was about to board a plane bound for an European destination.

The former officer was said to have once been the manager of the airport, and tried to use his contacts there to bypass customs controls.

The police said the antiquities date back to the fourth century.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service