Egyptian museum gets serious about security

From Correspondent Gayle Young

CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Two months after a brazen thief almost walked off with King Tut's golden treasures, the Egyptian museum is getting serious about security.

The thief hid in a bathroom at closing time, and in the middle of the night, he pried open some of the poorly locked display cases housing the famous Tutankhamun artifacts and stashed a golden dagger and jewelry in the pocket of his blue jeans.

He then tried to stroll out of the museum the next morning with a group of tourists. Fortunately guard Ali Samak was alerted by curators that the items were missing.

Suspicious, Samak pulled the thief aside and searched him.

"He looked nervous and you could tell by his eyes, that he'd been up all night," Samak said.

Critics had long complained that Egypt's stunning collection of ancient treasures was badly guarded. The latest incident was not the first time thieves managed to spend the night in the museum

The only security system was a bell that warned visitors it was time to leave -- hardly alarming.

"Almost 50 years" said Ali Hassan of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization "we are using a bell to close and to open the museum, something that cannot be accepted from all over the world."

In recent weeks however, strong metal gates have been installed in all doorways, and video cameras have been placed throughout the 100-year-old building. The treasures are monitored day and night by guards.

Every evening a platoon of dogs sniffs throughout the exhibits, searching for anyone who may try to hide among the ancient artifacts.

After his arrest, the thief bragged to local newspapers that given a second chance he could do it again, hide in the museum without being detected.

But guards are determined it won't happen again. From now on, the only bodies left in the museum at closing time, will be the mummies.

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