Celebrated Egyptian singer remanded over drug possession
Saad Al Sagheer was arrested after marijuana reportedly found in luggage at Cairo airport
Cairo: Egyptian prosecutors have ordered well-known folk singer Saad Al Sagheer be kept in custody for four days pending interrogation on charges of possessing and taking drugs, legal sources said.
Al Sagheer, 54, was arrested Tuesday at Cairo airport upon his arrival from the US after customs officers found in his luggage suspected narcotic substances classified as drugs, the sources said.
Nine packets linked to electronic cigarettes containing marijuana were found in the luggage, local media reported.
In ensuing questioning, the Egyptian performer denied knowledge that the substances are categorised as banned drugs in Egypt. Al Sagheer reportedly said he had bought the substances at a store in the US. “They are sold over the counter. They carried labels in English and I don’t read [English],” he added, according to the Egyptian news website Cairo24.
Al Sagheer was in the US to perform at a concert.
Prosecutors ordered the seized substances be sent to the lab for examining and witnesses be summoned to give their testimonies.
Al Sagheer Wednesday was taken from his custody to a forensic medicine unit in Cairo to undergo a drug test, independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm said.
Born in the Cairo quarter of Shubra in 1970, Al Sagheer rose to fame in early 2000 with a series of songs that achieved wide popularity. The balladeer performed in several musical films that proved commercially successful. He has also hosted a number of TV entertainment shows.