Egypt arrests 16 suspected Muslim Brotherhood members

CAIRO – Egypt says police have arrested 16 suspected Muslim Brotherhood members for allegedly smuggling currency out of the country and plotting militant attacks in Egypt.

The Interior Ministry said Tuesday the suspects were collaborating with wanted Brotherhood members in Turkey to help smuggle wanted Islamists from Egypt to Europe.

It says in a statement the suspects also provided funds for Brotherhood members to carry out militant attacks in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood won a series of elections after the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Mohammed Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure, became Egypt’s first freely-elected president the following year.

The military overthrew Morsi in 2013 amid massive protests against his brief rule. Authorities have since branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and arrested thousands of its members. Morsi collapsed in a courtroom and died in June.