Astonished police have confiscated an 800-year-old mummy found in the thermal delivery bag of a Just Eat-style biker.

The ancient remains were discovered during a routine search of young people drinking at a popular tourist beauty spot called Mantaro, in the Las Torres area of the city of Puno, in southern Peru, on Lake Titicaca.

The mummy was found in the box of a man named in local media as Julio Caesar, reportedly a deliveryman with Pedidos Ya, a food delivery service across Latin America.

Experts say it dates back between 600 and 800 years.

Bizarrely, Caesar reportedly told police that the mummy was his spiritual girlfriend and that it had been in the family for years.

He reportedly said: “I take care of her and maintain her. She is like, excuse the word, my spiritual girlfriend.”

Caesar is also quoted in local media saying: “This mummy belonged to my dad. I am 26 years old, we are talking about 1980 or 1990 […].”

He said he had called the mummy “Juanita mummy” out of “affection for her”.

The man’s relatives said that they had tried to sell it to the Puno Museum but no money had been offered so they did not go through with it.

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture on Sunday, 26th February, saying: “The Ministry of Culture, through the Decentralised Directorate of Culture (DDC) of Puno, in coordination with the Public Ministry and the National Police of Peru, participated in an operation to verify the pre-Hispanic cultural asset identified as a mummified adult male individual, presumably from the eastern area of ​​Puno.

“Within the framework of its functions, the Decentralised Directorate of Culture of Puno, verified the authenticity of the pre-Hispanic cultural asset, with approximately a relative chronology of 600 and 800 years old.

“The Ministry of Culture immediately ordered the custody of the aforementioned movable property, in order to protect and preserve the heritage.

“The competent directions of the Ministry of Culture are carrying out the respective procedures for their physical and legal protection, in accordance with the provisions of Article 98 of the Regulations of Law No. 28296, General Law of the Nation’s Cultural Heritage.

“This action takes place in accordance with the provisions agreed within the framework of the “National Commission for the protection and recovery of movable property that is part of the Cultural Heritage of the Nation”, created in March 2021.”

It is currently unclear if any charges have been brought against Caesar.