The Egyptian Archaeological Unit at Cairo International Airport succeeded to foil an attempt to smuggle Ottoman pistols to Turkey while a unit in Safaga Port foiled an attempt to smuggle a collection of 21 silver coins from the reign of King Farouk to Saudi Arabia.

Hamdy Hamam, the head of the unit at Cairo International Airport, said the guns were determined to be rare, ancient relics after being examined by experts.

One of the guns is 56 centimetres long and consists of a metal handle and a chamber marked with foliage decorations while the two others are 48 centimetres long and consist of a wooden handle, a metal curving with a metal trigger, and a decorated bullet chamber.

The coins are dated to the Ottoman period, the Sultan Hussein Kamel era and the reign of King Farouk.