Cairo: Saudi anti-drug police have seized 4.7 million tablets of amphetamine hidden in a consignment of concrete blocks and arrested two foreigners in connection with the haul, authorities have announced.
The kingdom’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control reported that a Yemeni resident and a displaced expatriate were apprehended after the seizure in Riyadh.
“Disciplinary procedures were taken, and they were referred to public prosecution,” the directorate said, without specifying the date of the seizure or the origin of the narcotics.
n recent months, Saudi Arabia has intensified its crackdown on narcotics smugglers and traffickers in what is dubbed the “war on drugs,” reporting a series of foiled attempts.
Earlier this month, Saudi customs authorities said they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle cocaine into the kingdom in a potato shipment arriving at the Red Sea port of Jeddah.
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca) revealed that 27.6 kg of cocaine had been found hidden inside a container carrying potatoes. The illicit substances were discovered inside the container’s air-conditioner during inspection, Zatca added.
Last month, Zatca announced thwarting an attempt to smuggle over 1 million Captagon pills hidden in a cargo of peppers and guavas transported to the kingdom aboard a truck through the Red Sea Duba port in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The would-be recipient was later arrested. In March, Zatca uncovered attempts by several air passengers to smuggle cocaine and heroin inside their bodies. More than 2 kilos of cocaine were detected in the guts of three travelers arriving at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
Customs officers also aborted an attempt by a fourth passenger to smuggle 878 grams of heroin in their gut at the same airport. Drug smuggling and trafficking are offenses punishable by up to death in Saudi Arabia.
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