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Major drug smuggling bid foiled, says Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has foiled an attempt to smuggle of 4.5 million of drugs pills and half a ton of hashish into the country, it was announced by the media spokesman of the Directorate General of Drugs Control, Major Ebrahim Abu Hilayel.

  • By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
  • Published: 18:12 August 16, 2008
  • Gulf News

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has foiled an attempt to smuggle of 4.5 million of drugs pills and half a ton of hashish into the country, it was announced by the media spokesman of the Directorate General of Drugs Control, Major Ebrahim Abu Hilayel.

In a press statement here on Saturday, he noted that the attempt was foiled in cooperation with a neighbouring country which he declined to name.

According to him, the Saudi anti-drugs squad also foiled in the past two weeks several attempts of drugs smuggling and trafficking in Al Aflaj, King Khaled International Airport, Asir region, Jizan and Eastern Province.

These include an attempt at trafficking more than one million Captagon pills smuggled into the Kingdom from a neighbouring country. They also include seizing of 54 kilograms of hashish and 254,000 drugs tablets.

Several weapons found with the smugglers and traffickers involved in these cases were also seized.

In addition, 69,000 drugs tablets were seized by the anti-drugs squad at King Khaled International Airport, while the drugs control authorities seized 69 kilograms of hashish in Asir region in the south part of the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the anti-narcotic squads in Jizan also thwarted an attempt to smuggle 105 kilograms of hashish while 487 Captagon pills were seized in the Eastern region.

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