Watch: Saudis bust haul of 1.1m narcotic pills

Cairo: Saudi Arabia said it has foiled a bid to smuggle 1.1 million narcotic drugs hidden inside a shipment of toys, clothes and other merchandise.

The kingdom’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) said the contraband had been seized at the Red Sea Jeddah port and five would-be recipents of the cargo in the kingdom had been arrested.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has foiled a series of attempts to smuggle drugs into the kingdom.

Last June, ZATCA said its officers had thwarted several attempts to smuggle over 18 million drug pills into the kingdom in five months.

Drug smuggling and trafficking is an offence punishable by up to death in Saudi Arabia.