A security source told Ahram’s Arabic website that wanted outlaw Yasser El-Hamboli and his gang have more firearms and ammunition than the Ministry of Interior.

The source, who did not want his identity to be disclosed, said El-Hamboli had imported numerous and varied weapons from abroad into Luxor and he now has a full arsenal.

In an attempt to force El-Hamboli to hand himself in, the police arrested his 13-year-old son Heshmat.

“On the son’s mobile phone we found pictures of imposing strange-looking firearms and ammunition,” the source said. “He’s more armed than the interior ministry.”

However, arresting El-Hamboli's son did not have the intended effect.

The father and a dozen armed men hijacked a vehicle carrying an aerostat to use as a bargaining chip.

The source said that the police released El-Hamboli's son in return for the aerostat, which is owned by a tourism company.