A man has been charged after “priceless” Egyptian artefacts were stolen from a museum, Australian police have said.
The 52-year-old suspect is accused of smashing a window at the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology and then taking the items before fleeing the scene in Caboolture, Queensland.
The artefacts included a wooden cat sculpture, believed to be around 2,600 years old and from the 26th dynasty of ancient Egypt, a necklace reportedly 3,300 years old, a mummy mask, and a collar from a mummy.
All of the stolen items have now been recovered following the break-in which happened at about 3am local time on Friday (5pm on Thursday UK time).
Police said they discovered most of the artefacts intact, with only minor damage, after searching a camper van.
They located the vehicle in a car park at Redland Bay ferry terminal around 1.30pm on Saturday (3.30am UK time), around 50 miles from the museum.
The suspect, of no fixed address, was allegedly found in possession of the last missing item – the wooden cat sculpture.
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He was arrested on Russell Island around 7pm on Saturday (10am UK time) and has been charged with breaking and entering, and three counts of wilful damage.
He is due to appear in Cleveland Magistrates Court on Monday.
