Egyptians free surgeon after gun find

AN Irish surgeon has been released from custody in Egypt after being arrested at Cairo Airport yesterday for attempting to bring a pistol on board a plane in his hand luggage.

Dr Wahid Mikhail, aged 65, a locum from Howth, Co Dublin, was detained while attempting to board an Air France flight bound for Paris. Custom officers arrested the father of two after allegedly discovering a pistol and 17 bullets in his hand luggage.

However, Dr Mikhail, who holds both Irish and Egyptian passports, was released without charge, after being questioned for several hours.

Last night, his Irish-born wife, Stella, expressed relief that Egyptian police were satisfied that there had been a “genuine” mistake.

Dr Mikhail told police he had kept the pistol, which dates from the 1930s, as a souvenir of his late father, but was unaware of Egyptian laws preventing the possession of such weapons.

“He was obviously very badly shaken, but fine now that everything is okay,” said Mrs Mikhail.

“He really just wanted to bring the gun home for sentimental value.”

She explained that her husband had travelled to Egypt to sort out the belongings of his late parents following the sale of the family home.

Mrs Mikhail said the weapon had been kept by her late father-in-law who used it to protect ancient sites in Egypt where he worked as an archaeologist.

Dr Mikhail, who is a trained plastic surgeon, has lived in Ireland for the past 27 years. Mrs Mikhail said she became aware of her husband’s arrest at around 5am yesterday after being contacted by representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs. However, she said she knew nothing about any allegations relating to bullets.

Mrs Mikhail also criticised some media coverage of the incident which she claimed had attempted to portray her husband as a potential Muslim terrorist. “My husband is a Coptic Christian, so that just wouldn’t make any sense,” she said. Mrs Mikhail said her husband was due to return home to Ireland “within a few days”.