A South Cairo prosecution ordered on Saturday that an autopsy be conducted on a man who died in police custody on Friday, and has ordered the detention of 40 people accused of attempting to storm the police station where the man died.

The death of the 22-year-old man, Mohamed "Afroto," sparked altercations between police and an angry crowd outside El-Moqattam police station in Cairo.

The prosecution has ordered a post-mortem drug test be conducted on Mohamed, who was being investigated for alleged drug trafficking.

Mohamed's family claimed that their relative was tortured to death in police custody.

According to the prosecution, Mohamed's body "showed no outward signs of injury".

The prosecution said that following Mohamed's death, 40 of his friends, family and others gathered in front of the police station where they torched two police vehicles and attempted to storm the station.

Later on Saturday, Egypt's Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar ordered the department of inspection at the ministry to launch an investigation into the incident, Ahram's Arabic news website reported.