Cairo: Saudi police had arrested an illegal expatriate in possession of 23 kilograms of hashish as part of a crackdown on dealers in drugs, a security official has said.
The offender is an Ethiopian man who was also found to be a violator of the kingdom’s border security system, spokesman for the Saudi General Directorate of Narcotics Control Major Mohammed Al Najidi added.
The suspect was arrested in the region of Riyadh and referred to public prosecution, he said.
Drug smuggling and trafficking is an offence punishable by up to death in Saudi Arabia.
In recent months, Saudi authorities have busted several attempts to smuggle drugs into the kingdom.
Earlier this month, customs officers at the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) foiled an attempt to smuggle over 12 million Captagon drug pills, which were hidden inside a coca shipment at the Jeddah port.
In August, ZATCA officers thwarted two major smuggling attempts of drugs at the Jeddah port.
They included 8.7 million Captagon pills also hidden inside a coca shipment while the second attempt included 1.6 million pills, which were stashed away on the floor of a truck.
In July, Saudi authorities thwarted an attempt to smuggle about 2.1 million Captagon pills at a border crossing. The haul was found hidden inside a shipment of tomato paste at Al Hadaitha crossing in northern Saudi Arabia.
